Together
by shygirl1
Summary: AU. Another Xseries soldier teams up with Max and Zack to bring the bad guys down. MZ. COMPLETE!
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "Blah Blah Woof Woof" and "…And Jesus Brought a Casserole." This part takes place between "Blah Blah Woof Woof" and "The Kids Are Aiight," but is closer to the latter.

_Next week it will be three months,_ Max thought as she sat on top of the Space Needle late one night. _Three damn months since Zack turned himself in to Manticore to save my own sorry butt. I still can't believe that it's been this long already, but most of all I can't believe that he actually went that far._ She frowned. _I mean I can believe it in a way because I know that Zack would do absolutely anything for me and the rest of the family, but to see him actually do it…_

She shivered a little. _God, what are they doing to him? Well, Psy Ops for sure, those bastards. Hell, if Syl got a month in there when Dash had gotten shot and killed and they knew that it was completely accidental…what could they possibly be tossing at Zack right now?_ Max snorted. _What did good ol' Deck show us when I had that lesson with Jondy, Krit, Eva, Jack, and some of the other younger X5s that one time? The laser, psychoactives, those clamps…love the pressure points, Lydecker! And I'm sure that they've come up with some _lovely _new tricks in the years since I was last in Gillette._

Max shifted in place. _I know Zack will stay strong. When has he ever not been strong? He held it together for us when we needed him when Dash died, when Jack died, when I had that seizure the night of the escape and so many times it's hard for even me to count them all! He'll take whatever Manticore can throw at him and probably throw it back even harder right in their faces, too, because that's just what Zack does._ She couldn't help grinning with pride. _Nobody screws with him and gets away at all, much less clean!_

Max yawned, stretched, stood up, and started to head back when she paused and turned her head around for one last look at the skyline. _I can't give up hope on this. He'll bust his ass out of there soon. I just know it._ With a nod to herself, she made her way back down the Space Needle and to her bike. She climbed on and rode quickly to her and Original Cindy's apartment and let herself in quietly, only to see Original Cindy sitting on the couch having a hot drink. "Hey, girl. I didn't know that you'd be up at almost four in the morning."

"Not by my own desire, that's for sure," Original Cindy said dryly. "I'm just sipping at the old Chamomile until I feel like catching a few Z's again. If you want any, there's still water in the pot and I left the box of tea bags out on the counter, so help yourself if that's what you're up to." She took another sip of her tea. "What are you gonna do, anyway?"

"I think some of that tea sounds like a decent idea," Max said. She went into the kitchen and turned the heat back on under the teapot and got herself a mug and dropped a tea bag into it. "After that, I think I'm gonna grab an hour or two of sleep. It's been more than a week since I last got any of that, so I'm due for it."

"Cool," Original Cindy said. "Where were you? Up on the Needle again?"

"Yeah," Max said. "Had to think some issues through."

"Did you get them sorted?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "With the quality and quantity of what I've got? It'll take at least another ten to fifteen years before I make a dent in them." She sighed as the pot whistled. She turned the heat off and poured the hot water into her mug. "I guess that can be said to some extent for most of the poor slobs out there."

"Wow, they must have been some issues if you're getting all deep like that," Original Cindy remarked. She frowned. "Let me guess: something to do with your sibs? You only ever get that sad when you think about them."

"True on both counts," Max confessed. _I'm glad that I spilled at least some details about my life back in the day. I don't think I'll ever tell O.C. the nitty-gritty, but I need to talk about my sibs sometimes._ "I miss them. It's been ten, eleven years since I last saw most of them and when I've seen Zack, Brin, and Tinga, it wasn't exactly under the best of circumstances."

"Well, Original Cindy can see where you're coming from," Original Cindy said. "It's only been months since the last time I saw any of my brothers and I miss them like crazy and I talk to them on the phone at least once a week. I don't know how you do it every day."

"It's not the easiest thing in the world to do," Max agreed. "There are some days when I just see something that reminds me so strongly of one of them, whether it's a person who looks like my brother Reese or something that I think would fit with my sister Syl's sense of humor. I remember one time not even a year after the escape when I was living near Las Vegas when I'd gotten onto a bus to go into the city and I saw these kids that were obviously brother and sister and the boy looked like Zack. It wasn't him, this kid had to have been closer to my age and he had different colored eyes, but the resemblance was enough, you know?"

Original Cindy nodded in understanding. "I'm willing to bet that's what you were thinking about up on the Space Needle: Ol' Soldier Boy."

"Can you blame me?" Max asked.

"Not a single bit," Original Cindy assured her. She took one last sip from her mug before she walked into the kitchen and put it down on the counter. "I'll wash it either before we head to Jam Pony or after we get back from there. I'll see you in the morning." She went into her bedroom and shut the door.

Max smiled. _Thank goodness that Original Cindy's around. I don't know how anybody can get through without a friend._ She finished her own tea and put the mug down next to Original Cindy's before she went into her room. She quickly changed into her pajamas and lay down in bed and closed her eyes and her thoughts went back to Zack once more. _Good luck, Zack. Give them hell._

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

X6-405 sat in the library at Manticore, trying to concentrate on the book in front of her. Around her, her unit mates were doing the same. At least that's what she assumed they were doing until a pencil came flying past her, just missing her nose. She looked up and glared at the boy sitting next to her. "Was that you, 773?"

"Don't mind him, 405," the strawberry blond-haired girl, 691, on her left said. "He's just antsy because he has to report to mission prep tommorrow."

"His first long-term away mission," another girl, 392, teased. "And with a girl, no less! Our little 773 is all grown up."

"I'm older than you are," 773 pointed out. "And you haven't gone on your first yet either."

"And I'm older than all of you," 405 said. She smiled a little. "Give 773 a rest."

"Yes, ma'am," 392 said. She grinned.

405 shook her head. "You guys are all insane." She sighed and tried to concentrate again on her book. They might drive her up the wall sometimes, but they were the only thing keeping her from making a break for it like the '09ers did almost eleven years ago. She hated Manticore. She figured she was probably the only person, except maybe Lydecker, who didn't hate the '09ers. She'd almost hero-worshipped them when she was younger. They had been the best, the ones that other units were compared to, and there was something more, something that 405 couldn't quite put a finger on. When they had escaped, 405 had figured out why and couldn't blame them, no matter how hard Manticore tried to make all of them do that. She thought about making her own break, but knew deep down that her own unit mates didn't want to leave. So no matter how much it hurt her to stay, she knew it would hurt worse if she wasn't there to protect her unit.

"I heard that something's got the Colonel practically climbing the walls," 058, the youngest in the unit, said.

"More so than usual?" 405 said. "What do you mean?"

"I think that they got another '09er back," 058 said. He shrugged. "He was behaving like he did when they brought back 734, except he's even more excited."

"Which could only mean that they got either 452 or 599," 405 said softly. She shook her head. "Either that, or they brought back more than one of the other '09ers."

"Nah, I think it's gotta be either 599 or 452," 058 said. "They were the CO and 2IC in their unit. Of course he'd be more excited about them."

"I heard that the Colonel has been focusing especially on 452 lately," 691 said. "No idea why."

"Why are we gossiping like a bunch of norm teenaged girls?" 405 wondered.

"Remember what the instructor told us in our very first culture class, ma'am," 773 teased. "'Gossiping may seem like a waste of time, but it can be a perfect place to accumulate intel.'"

"I know," 405 said.

Just then, the door to the library opened and a regular soldier entered the room and walked up to 405. "X6-405?"

"Yes," 405 said. She stood up. "Is there a problem."

"Colonel Lydecker would like you to report to his office immediately," he said.

405 nodded and turned to her unit. "I'll see you later. 115, take lead in the training exercise we're going to run this afternoon if I'm not back in time."

"Yes, ma'am," 115 said, saluting.

"Good," 405 said. She followed the soldier to Lydecker's office, trying to figure out what he could possibly want.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

405 waited patiently in front of the door to Lydecker's office while the soldier let him know that she was here. When the soldier came back out and nodded to her, she marched into the office and stood at perfect attention, her grey eyes glued to a point on the wall in front of her. "X6-405 reporting as ordered, sir."

"At ease, 405," Lydecker said, nodding approvingly. "I've got a small assignment for you. We've recently brought another one of the rogue X5s back home."

_Score one for 058,_ 405 thought. "X5-599," Lydecker said. 405 felt her heart nearly jump into her throat. _It really **is** Zack! They couldn't have broken him already. I remember him being too damn stubborn. Of course, look who's talking there..._

"599 is being, as you can probably imagine, unwilling to cooperate in helping us bring the rest of his...family home."

_No shit, sherlock,_ 405 thought. _You've only personally killed one and put the others through hell before they cut loose. I can't think of a reason why Zack wouldn't want to cooperate with you. Bastard._ "Your assignment, 405, is simple, almost too simple," Lydecker continued. "I want you to bring 599 his meals."

"Permission to speak, sir," 405 said.

"Granted," Lydecker said.

"Why me, sir? That sounds like a norm soldier or a lab tech's job," 405 said.

"It normally is," Lydecker agreed. "But we need to be able to control 599. We anticipate a possible hunger strike on his part and we need to make sure that he has his strength for his re-indoctrination. He's also extremely combative and it easily falls within the realm of possibility that he would lash out at a lab tech or guard and make an attempt at escape. You are stronger and faster than he is. We need to make sure he is...properly supervised when we aren't working with him."

_Torturing him. Call it what it is, asshole._ "Yes, sir."

"Good," Lydecker said. He motioned to a tech, who walked up to 405 and handed her a lunch tray. "He will escort you to 599's cell and wait outside the door for you. 599 has thirty minutes to eat. Feel free to administer any motivation necessary."

"Yes, sir," 405 said. She saluted Lydecker, somehow managing to keep her anger at him off of her face. She followed the lab tech out of the office.

* * *

Zack lay pretending to sleep on his bunk when he heard the door to his cell open. He continued to lay there with his eyes closed until he heard the door close again. He opened them and was a little surprised when he saw a young woman in her late teens standing in the doorway. She was almost annoyingly familiar and Zack stared at her for a few moments before he remembered. "405."

405 smiled a little. "You remember me. Zack, right?"

"How did you know my name?" Zack asked. He tensed.

"Relax," 405 said. "There's only a security cam in here, no listening devices. Here. Lunch time."

Zack reluctantly took the tray. "Why do they have you on babysitting duty?"

"Lydecker said that they want to make sure that you're, I quote, 'properly supervised,'" 405 said. She made a disgusted face. "Asshole."

Zack smiled fainly. "I had a feeling you weren't like the others."

"Damn right," she said. "I never hated you guys for running away."

"Do you have a name?" Zack asked.

405 shook her head. "No. Never thought of one that fit me. None of the aliases I've had on missions fit."

"Oh," Zack said. "How did you know my name?"

"I'd overheard some lab techs complaining once, about a month after you guys left," 405 said. "I had to wait for a soldier to escort me back to my block after some testing. They were going over the intel that Lydecker had told them to look over about you guys." She smirked. "They were pissed at you guys for running because it meant that Lydecker gave them even more work."

Zack smirked. "I never liked them." He paused. "How could you have overheard them? You'd think that they would have taken precautions knowing that you could have heard them."

"They did, just not enough," 405 said. She laughed a little. "Remember that day about a month before you guys left when they had your unit and mine spar against each other?"

Zack nodded. "All but two of you guys went down fairly easy. 115, I think, could keep up with us but he wasn't as good as we were at the time. And then you were almost wiping the floor with us."

"Yeah," 405 said. "I don't know what went on with the X6s. All I know is that for whatever reason, about 15 percent of us can keep up with X5s and about another 10 percent of us, myself included, can hold our own with those little X8s. I have no idea why."

"Who knows what they did to us," Zack said.

"Yeah," 405 agreed. They were quiet for a good length of time while Zack ate. When he was done, he set aside the tray and focused his attention back on 405.

"How old are you?" Zack asked.

"Seventeen," 405 said. "My birthday is sometime in the fall, I don't know exactly when. I'm the oldest X6."

"Will they be sending you out against us?" Zack asked quietly.

405 shook her head. "I hope not. I don't know if I could get myself to bring you guys in." She paused. "They're coming back."

"You should probably hit me," Zack said. "They might get suspicious if they don't see any marks."

"Good idea," 405 said. She raised her hand.

"Becky," Zack said suddenly.

"Huh?" 405 said.

"Your name," he said. "Becky."

Becky grinned. "Thanks." She took a deep breath and slapped him hard, splitting his lip. "I'll see you tonight." She straightened as the door opened and Lydecker and two soldiers entered the room. "Sir."

"At ease, 405," he said. "You may return to your unit. Report back here at 1700 hours."

"Yes, sir," Becky said. She saluted Lydecker and marched back to the library. She had to resist grinning. _I finally have a name! Thank you, Zack. Thank you._

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky was not in the best of moods as she walked into Zack's cell several days later. She kept it off of her face until the door closed, then handed Zack his tray. "Here ya go."

Zack picked up on Becky's mood immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Becky said. "I'm being sent on a mission to Russia. It's gonna take a few months. I report to mission prep tomorrow for last minute briefings and prep and I leave in two days. At least three freaking months in Siberia, lucky me."

"At least you get away from this hellhole," Zack pointed out.

"Yes and no," Becky said. She sighed. "Every three weeks, I have to fly back to Manticore's facility in Seattle for a few days to be debriefed and to keep up on my training. So I'm sort of trading..." She trailed off when she noticed the color draining from Zack's face. "Oh man...one of your siblings is in Seattle."

"Max," Zack said. "Damnit, I told her to get the hell out of Seattle. I told her it wasn't safe for her to be there, and now..."

Becky was worried for Zack, but something in his expression and tone of voice almost made her smile. "You're in love."

"Huh?" Zack said.

"Don't BS me," Becky said. "You're in love with Max."

"How...?"

"I might have spent my life here, but I have gotten out on missions and we are at least mostly human," Becky said. "You are in love with Max. Admit it."

Zack sighed. "Since we were kids."

"But..." Becky said.

"...I don't know," Zack concluded. "We had to split up when we escaped and I kept my distance from her for the past ten years or so, only keeping an eye on her from afar. I never even gave her my contact number."

"Because you were scared?" Becky guessed.

"Yeah," Zack admitted. "I only started keeping closer surveillance on her a few months ago when she hired this sleazy PI to help her track us down and he sold her out to Lydecker. Both of us almost got caught then. I tried to convince her to leave Seattle then, but she refused. I met up with her again a few weeks ago to get her help when Brin was captured by that rogue ex-buddy of Lydecker's. I found out the reason she didn't want to leave."

"What's his name?" Becky asked.

"Logan Cale," Zack said angrily. "Eyes fucking Only. I'll give the devil his due, he's amazing with computers and he came through for us, but damnit, he's all wrong for Max. Can't stand his holier-than-thou attitude."

"Maybe she's scared, too," Becky offered. "Maybe that's why she's with this Logan guy because she's scared you'll never come back and so she wants someone safe."

"Most people wouldn't consider Eyes Only safe," Zack pointed out.

"Most people aren't X5s," Becky countered. They both smiled.

"I just can't picture Max scared," Zack said. "She's tough, smart, a smart alec when she wants to be, very independant, just not scared of anything."

"No offense Zack, but you're a pretty big badass yourself," Becky said. "And you're scared. So why can't she be?"

Zack nodded. "True."

Becky looked at her watch. "Damn. The guards will be back in two minutes." She looked at Zack and smiled a little. "I'd hug, but the cameras..."

"I understand," Zack said. "One day, you'll get out of here too. I swear."

"I know," Becky said. "When the time is right, I'll get out and I won't look back." She bit her lip. "I'll miss you, Zack. I hope I don't see you when I get back from Russia."

Zack grinned, understanding what she was saying. "I hope I don't see you, too."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

About three months later...

Becky sat down at a table in the cafeteria with the X6 unit she'd been assigned to work with while she was at Seattle, the same one she'd worked with the last time she'd been based out of the facility for a mission. "What did you guys think of the new rifles we were working with at the range this morning? I loved them."

"It felt too light for me," 583 said, shaking his head.

"583, you're almost as big as that tank we were training on last week," 252 said. "The only thing that's gonna have enough weight for you is a bazooka."

"Does that tank have a six-pack like mine?" 583 said with a grin.

"Great, barely sixteen and he thinks he's the greatest thing to happen to women," 252 muttered.

"Wanna find out, sweetheart?" 583 said.

"I thought that it felt pretty good, too," 941, the unit's CO, said. "Had a little kick, but nothing unmanageable."

"Who are we sparring against this afternoon, 941?" Becky asked.

"Mixed group," 941 said. "X6 Unit 7 and X5 Unit 1. They're both light right now because several members of both units are on missions."

"Nothing like having my ass handed to me by an X5 to make my day," 312, another boy, grumbled.

"Hey, if you're lucky, you won't face an X5 this afternoon," 252 said helpfully.

"Are you kidding?" 312 said. "941, do you know who's the trainer that'll be in charge of the massacre this afternoon?"

"Yeah, I think it's Johnson," 941 said.

"There ya go, I'll be going against an X5," 312 said. "Johnson's a sadist. 'Remember, just because an enemy is bigger and stronger and faster than you are..."

"...doesn't mean that it's impossible to beat them,'" the rest of them said in unison.

"Though by the same token," 437 said. "Johnson could have 941, 252, 405, or 668 from unit 7 spar against the X5s so they can have their butts handed to them."

"True," 312 admitted. "Seeing that happen will almost make up for it."

"Attention, all X-series are to report to lecture hall 1 immediately," a voice said over the loudspeaker. "Attention. All X-series are to report to lecture hall 1 immediately."

"This can't be good," 583 said.

"Threes, fours, fives, sixes, sevens, eights, and even those toddler nines in one room for an announcement? Something's up," 941 said. "Let's go."

They got up and followed 941 to lecture hall 1 and managed to find seats together. They watched as the rest of the X-series soldiers filed into the room and also took seats. Director Renfro walked into the room a few moments later and stepped up to the podium at the front of her room and cleared her throat.

"I know you all have your assignments for the day, so I will be as brief as possible," she said.

"This is not good," 252 whispered. "Something's got Renfro off her game."

Becky nodded. "I haven't known her as long as you guys, but I've never seen her anything remotely approaching flustered before."

"Two days ago, the Manticore facility located in Gilette, Wyoming was attacked," Renfro said.

It took all of the training Becky had to keep the worry out of her face. _Please let my unit be all right. Please let them be all right!_

"A group of four of the rogue X5s, whom we identified as X5-599, X5-452, X5-157, and X5-701, infiltrated the facility and blew the DNA lab," Renfro continued. "X5-157 and X5-701 got away and X5-734 was injured in her attempt to stop them, but we did recapture X5-599 and X5-452, though X5-452 was near-fatally wounded by an X7 as she attempted to flee. There were no other injuries to any other X-series and fairly minimal damage to the area immediately surrounding the DNA lab." She paused. "What I am about to say next is what immediately affects all of you here. It has been decided that, at least for the forseeable future, all three facilities will be consolidated into one facility. That facility will be this facility here in Seattle, as this is the only one with the correct capacity. The soldiers from Gilette as well as from our other facility in upstate New York will be arriving here starting tommorrow. We are currently working on integrating them into the daily routine. You will all be briefed again after they arrive. Dismissed."

"Whoa," 312 said. "Some of the '09ers actually had the nerve to go back and take out the DNA lab? They might be traitors, but damn you have to admire that kind of balls."

"You okay, 405?" 334 asked.

"I'm fine, 334," Becky assured her. "At least I will be."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Takes place immediately following chapter 40 of "Dysfunctional."

Becky was quiet as she stood watching the two X5s face off in front of her during her edge weapons training class. Since her final return to Seattle from Russia almost two months ago, she'd been trying to keep an eye out for as much information as she could find about Zack and Max, though with no luck so far.

"Something going on in that pretty head of yours, 405?"

Becky mentally rolled her eyes and glanced out of the corner of her eye at the man standing next to her on her right. "Nothing that involves you, 494."

"Oh, come on, you can tell me," X5-494 said. "After class, tonight during rec time, we could meet back here and..."

"If it means dropping you on your butt in two minutes again, then sure," Becky said.

"Lucky move," 494 grumbled, but he shut up. Becky hid a smile and focused her attention as the last pair finished and put their weapons back on the rack and moved back into line with the others.

"Good work today, soldiers," the trainer said. "See you all here again Friday at 1400 hours. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir," they chorused. They all saluted him and headed out the door.

"Damn 224," Becky muttered as she wiped the blood on her right cheek.

"Hey, he did get sent to the brig for that move after the trainer said no moves with intent to injure," 941, who was also in the class, said helpfully.

"I know," Becky said. "He thinks he's hot shit because he's the C.O. of you Seattle X6s. How have you put up with him all these years, 941?"

"Very carefully," 941 said. "He's damn good, almost as good as you are, and he's unfortunately got the ego to match."

"Like 494," Becky said.

"494's not nearly as arrogant as 224, plus he's usually pretty funny," 941 said.

Becky shrugged. "I should get to the infirmary to get this stitched up before I meet up with my unit at the rifle range. I'll catch you later, 941."

"Same here, 405," 941 said.

Becky walked into the infirmary and up to a nurse. "X6-405. I got cut in edge weapons training and need this stitched up."

"Of course, 405," the nurse said. "Have a seat while I get a suture kit and some gauze."

Becky nodded and sat down on the exam table and sighed. She started to pick at the edge of the table when she heard some voices coming from the other side of the infirmary. She turned her head and listened.

"Fucking bitch," a male voice said.

"That's what you get when you deal with a pissed X5 chick, Jim," another male voice said. "They're worse than regular women."

"No shit," Jim said. "It's gonna take awhile before Psy Ops is done with her. She's definitely a feisty one. You'd never know she'd had a heart transplant three months ago."

"I heard they're also having a hard time with that other one," the other man said.

"Didn't he try to shoot himself so he could be her donor?" Jim asked.

"Yeah," the other man said. "Fortunately, 734 had gotten herself free by that time and had dragged herself to the infirmary to be treated for her own injuries. She shot 599 in his other shoulder before 599 could shoot himself."

"And she grew up with him and 452. Nice," Jim said, chuckling.

"It's a good thing Director Renfro's keeping them isolated from each other in opposite wings and from the other soldiers until Psy Ops says they're ready," the other man said. "Can you imagine how they'd be if they let 'em loose into the general population right now?"

"There'd be a lot more of us in here," Jim agreed.

"There ya go, all patched up," the other man said. "I'd take it easy with those ribs, though. No heavy lifting for at least a week."

"Thanks, man," Jim said. "Gotta get back to D wing. They've got me assigned to guard 452 for the foreseeable future, so I probably will see you soon."

"There you go, 405, all done," the nurse said.

Becky blinked. She'd been so focused on that conversation that she hadn't noticed the nurse stitching up the gash on her cheek. "Thank you." She jumped down from the table and walked towards the rifle range, lost in thought. _At least I know where Max is, and it probably won't be too hard now to figure out where Zack is. I might be stuck here, but I'll be damned if those two will be._

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky inched around the corner, trying to make as little noise as possible. If she got caught, she would be in more trouble than she wanted to think about. She crept silently down the hall, listening for any noise coming from the cells.

_Empty, empty..._ She paused and turned her head to the right and listened carefully. _Nope, sounds like a little kid crying, probably an X8._ She continued down the hall until she heard voices coming from a cell two cells up from her on her left. She recognized one of the voices and quickly ducked into one of the empty cells and held her breath.

"...so I'll see you tomorrow, same time," she heard 494's voice said. "Think you'll change your mind about contact, hmmm?"

"Yeah," a female voice said. "I might decide to kick you a few inches lower."

There was silence for a moment. "Be seeing you, 452."

Becky waited until she was certain 494 was out of earshot before she snuck out of the empty cell and to the cell she now knew had to be Max's. She took a deep breath and slowly opened the door.

* * *

Max flopped down on her bunk after 494 left, seething. _Breeding partners. Only Renfro would be sadistic enough to think of such a thing._ She sighed in frustration and got up off of the bunk and hooked it up to the wall. She started to remove the pick from the bottom of the bunk when she heard the door open. She dropped the pick and blurred to the door, intending to give the intruder a headache they'd never forget—only to have the intruder grab her foot in mid-kick.

Becky raised an eyebrow and let go of Max's foot. "Do I look like 494?"

"No," Max said. "But give me one reason why I shouldn't kick your ass for coming into my cell. Did Renfro send you to make sure 494 and I did the deed?"

"Huh?" Becky said, confused. "Why would—heck, why would you and 494 be having sex?" The answer to her question hit her a moment later. _Why else would they be? Renfro strikes again._

"Never mind," Max said.

"Look, I'm X6-405," Becky said. "Call me Becky. I'm from Gillette, too."

"I remember you now," Max said. "What do you want?"

Becky paused and made sure nobody was around before she spoke again. "Max, Zack's alive."

"What?" Max said. "He's dead. I've got his heart." She laughed bitterly. "That bitch Renfro took great care to tell me so herself."

"And you'd believe anything that came out of that bitch's mouth?" Becky said.

"What the hell am I supposed to believe?" Max said. "All I know is some punk clone of mine shoots me in the chest and the next thing I know I'm waking up in the infirmary and Renfro's telling me that Zack shot himself so that I could have his heart. Is this some kind of new Psy Ops trick that bitch Renfro came up with?"

"I'm telling the truth," Becky said. "He's alive. I don't know whose heart you got, but it isn't Zack's."

"How do you know?" Max said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I was in the infirmary this afternoon getting this gash on my cheek stitched up when I overheard a guard talking to one of the doctors," Becky said. "He, the guy's first name was Jim, was complaining about you. The doctor told him if they were having trouble with the other one and he said that Zack was going to kill himself to save you, but that your sister Brin had shot him in the shoulder and stopped him before he got the chance to. They've got him somewhere on the opposite end of the building until Psy Ops is done with both of you. I swear, I'm telling the truth."

Max looked at Becky for a few moments before she nodded. "I believe you."

"Thank you," Becky said. She looked down at the pick on the floor. "Trying to get the hell out?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Max said. She sighed and shook her head. "I've got to get Zack out, too. I can't break out without him." She looked at Becky again. "Will you help me?"

"Of course," Becky said.

"If you even think about betraying me or Zack...," Max warned. "I don't care if you are stronger and faster than I am, if there's one thing I learned on the outside it's how to play dirty and I guarantee you'll learn just how dirty I can play."

"I wouldn't expect less," Becky said.

Max nodded. "When you find out exactly where they're holding Zack, we can go from there."

"Yes, ma'am," Becky said, then winced. "Sorry about that. Force of habit."

"It's cool," Max said. "You'd better get going. The guards will be coming by any minute."

"All right," Becky said. "Max, I never hated you guys for running. I wish I could have, but my family didn't want to run and there's no way I could have left them behind."

"I know," Max said softly. She believed her. "You'd better blaze. Catch up with me when ya can."

"I will," Becky promised.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Takes place immediately before chapter 41 of "Dysfunctional."

"I pinpointed Zack's location to A Wing, right here," Becky said to Max the following night. She pointed to a part of the map she'd drawn earlier in the day. "Unfortunately, that wing of the building seems to be under heavier security than this one."

"I guess we know who's winning the 'Piss Manticore Off The Most Contest,'" Max remarked.

"Right," Becky said, smiling. "I occasionally have a few classes down in that area of the building, so I have some opportunity to do recon, which is what I ended up doing today."

Max nodded. "We've got one piece of the puzzle down. Now we've got to find the rest and put 'em together." She bit her lip. "Do you know if Zack's cell has security cameras in it?"

"I'm not sure," Becky admitted. "The hallways in that wing do, but as for the individual rooms? I don't know yet. Communicating with him is going to be the trickiest part of the whole business. I have a feeling that once we establish communication, the actual getting you two out of Manticore again will be easier." Becky bit her lip. "But we've also potentially have a wild card in play."

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

_Should I tell her that Zack told me about Eyes Only? No, I won't yet._ "We've been picking up occasional Eyes Only broadcasts on the TVs in the rec rooms," Becky said.

"So?" Max said quickly. "I've been living in Seattle for the past two years or so. We get a lot of them here."

"All about Manticore?" Becky asked quietly. "Max, you know as well as I do that we're one of the Government's dirty little secrets. If the secret gets out...I don't know what will happen, but it couldn't be good and it will most likely be directed at us. And I don't mean just you, me, and Zack, but all of us. X-series, transhumans, anomalies, everyone."

"Damn," Max said. "Logan..."

"Something you should tell me?" Becky said.

"I know Eyes Only," Max said. "His name is Logan Cale. He and I...well, were starting to get involved."

"He must really l—have feelings for you," Becky said. She shook her head. "But that not withstanding, Max, he's not thinking rationally. He's not focusing in on the big picture. While it is admirable that he's so devoted to you he thinks the rest of the world can go to hell, and what woman wouldn't want that quality in a man, he's in a situation where if what he's doing backfires, not only would he be responsible for your possible death or extended vacation in Psy Ops, but he'd also be responsible for the loss of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of lives."

Max sighed. "You're right." She smirked. "You know, that sounds like something that would come right out of Zack's mouth. You're a lot like him."

Becky grinned. "Maybe it's a C.O. thing."

"Maybe," Max said.

"Am I interrupting something, ladies?" a voice said.

Max and Becky whirled around to find 494 in the room with them. "What the hell are you doing here?" Max demanded.

"I left my watch here," 494 said, pointing to where his watch lay on the floor near Max's bunk. "Funny to find you here, 405."

"We're old friends," Becky said coolly. "What do you want, 494?"

"Alec," Max interrupted. "I named him Alec."

"Very appropriate," Becky said.

"You planning on busting Max and her brother out of here?" Alec asked.

"Were you listening in on the conversation, you ass?" Max snapped.

"You know, I could turn you guys in to Director Renfro..." Alec said.

"But you won't," Becky said.

"Hey, cool your jets, 405," Alec said.

"The name's Becky," Becky said. She glared at Alec, who flinched. Max looked impressed. "You will not say a single word about this, or I swear I will make sure you won't be saying anything for a long time. And I'm not even mentioning what Max will do."

"Why shouldn't I say to Renfro?" Alec said, though he had much less conviction. "My butt's still in some need of saving after this mission I botched six months ago."

Becky's glare never wavered. "Why shouldn't I tell Renfro that you and Max aren't copulating like you're supposed to?"

Alec sighed. "Fine. I won't say anything to Renfro."

"Better than that," Max said sweetly. "You're gonna help us."

"Help you?" Alec said skeptically. "How?"

"You know this facility a lot better than either of us," Becky said. "You'd probably know how to get around the security cameras in A Wing, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Alec admitted.

"Let me know tomorrow as soon as you can," Becky said. She turned to Max. "I'll contact Zack as soon as I can after that."

"And I thought X5s were supposed to give orders to the X6s," Alec said, amused.

"Not when it comes to playing dirty like this," Max said.

"Women," Alec muttered. He left Max's cell.

"Nice job getting Alec to back down like that," Max said.

"Thanks," Becky said. "I once heard one of the guards back in Wyoming say that looking into my eyes when I'm in a bad mood is like looking into the barrel of a gun: all you see is gray steel and you know you're going to be at best in severe pain when all's said in done." She shrugged. "Hell, I could even scare Lydecker occasionally."

"You could?" Max said. "I didn't think anything could scare Lydecker."

"There aren't a lot of things that can," Becky agreed. "But...sometimes, like when we'd be in the tank or in lineup, or after one of us was taken away for something...Lydecker would look at me and almost shiver. I don't know what he was scared of."

"Who knows," Max said. "You should blaze now."

Becky nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow with news from Zack."

"I'm looking forward to it," Max said.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Zack was pacing in his cell that evening, trying to keep his temper down. If he'd thought the time when he'd turned himself to Lydecker to keep Max safe was hell, this was worse. At least Lydecker didn't screw around with you when he wanted something. Zack would almost welcome the straight-up torture compared to that bitch Renfro. Renfro was frighteningly fond of mind games, taking every opportunity to remind him that Max was dead because of him, that he'd failed her and the others. She knew which buttons to push and pushed them as often as she wanted.

_Just when you think you know what evil is, there's something more,_ he thought. He heard the door to the cell creak open and he spun around. "Don't even think about coming in here unless you're in the mood to lose a few pints of blood."

"Nice way to greet someone you haven't seen in six months," Becky said, amused.

"Becky," Zack said, relieved. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"Yeah, Siberia was a breeze," Becky said.

"What are you doing here?" Zack asked. "If you get caught..."

"Don't worry," Becky said. "I would have been here sooner, but it took me awhile to find out exactly where they were holding you. How have you been, aside from the obvious?"

Zack looked down. "She's gone."

"Max?" Becky said.

"I saw her. I saw her lying there on the operating table in the infirmary back in Wyoming and I tried...I tried..." Zack paused to collect himself and only partially succeeded. "If I hadn't been shot from behind before I could fire, Max would still be alive. I was too slow."

"That's Renfro talking," Becky said softly. "Zack...Max is alive."

"What?" Zack said. "Please don't tell me you're joking."

"You know me better than that," Becky said. "She's alive. Pissed off, but alive."

"How?" Zack said. "The last time, I saw her, she was flatlining and had a hole in her chest."

"She got a transplant from another X5 donor," Becky said. "I don't know who, I was here in Seattle checking in and training before going back to Russia later that week to finish up my mission."

Zack felt his breath catch in his throat and had to restrain himself from shouting in sheer happiness and relief. "Do you know where she is?"

"Over in D Wing, on the other side of the building," Becky said. "They're having about as much success with her in Psy Ops as I can imagine they're having with you."

Zack grinned. "That's my Maxie. How did you manage to sneak in here?"

"I blackmailed someone into helping me," Becky said. "Your brother Ben's twin, 494. Max named him Alec."

"How does Max know him?" Zack wondered.

Becky winced. _He's not going to like hearing this one_. "Apparently, someone in the committee that's in charge of Manticore decided that they still wanted to produce new soldiers, in spite of the destruction of the DNA lab. I'm sure you can figure out how that would be possible. The older X-series, the X3s, X4s, and X5s so far have been ordered to participate in the breeding program. Alec was assigned to be Max's breeding partner."

"He was what?" Zack said. He managed to keep his voice level, but Becky could tell that he was ready to tear someone's head off.

"Don't worry," Becky said. "As soon as he told Max what was going on, she kicked him across the room. He hasn't touched her since."

Zack smirked. "Good boy."

"Last night, when I went to talk to Max, he came back to her cell. He left his watch in there," Becky said. "He overheard me and Max talking about working on an escape plan for the two of you and threatened to turn her and me in to Renfro. I threatened to tell Renfro that he wasn't copulating with Max like he'd been ordered to and then Max told him to help us. He got me around the cameras, but I only have a few more minutes before I have to sneak back out of here."

"Do we have a plan so far?" Zack asked.

"Nothing yet. We wanted to find out the specifics of your situation before we made any kind of move," Becky said. "Though like I told Max, we potentially have a wild card that could trip us up."

"Let me guess: Logan's so distraught that he's threatening to expose Manticore," Zack said.

"Bingo," Becky said. "He better not find out where we are. According to the latest Eyes Only broadcast I saw, he already knows that all of the Manticore facilities have been consolidated into one facility, though he doesn't know our location yet. If he does, something's gonna happen and it won't just be the three of us who'll be screwed."

Zack looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head. "No, he wouldn't be helping him."

"Who would be helping Cale?" Becky asked.

"Sometime after my sister Tinga had turned herself in to save her son and before Max and Krit and Syl and I went to blow the DNA lab, something happened between Renfro and Lydecker," Zack explained. "Renfro cut Lydecker out of the loop and tried to have him killed. Lydecker got away and he tried to get Tinga back, but when he got there with his own soldiers, Tinga was already dead and Max was holding her and crying. He took Max and Max somehow convinced Lydecker to let her help them get out of there before Manticore closed in on them and somehow managed to convince him to help us take it down."

"But Lydecker wouldn't want to kill all of us," Becky said. "He cares about us, in his own weird way. I guess he figured if it was simply a matter of the DNA lab blowing and a possible loss of funding, we'd be quietly dispersed into the world, at least the X-series."

"If only Cale could just get his head in the game and realize how much is potentially at stake," Zack said.

"I said more or less the same thing to Max last night," Becky remarked. She smiled a little. "After she admitted that I was right, she said that sounded like something that you would say."

"Great minds think alike," Zack said.

"I should get going," Becky said.

"Tell her I'm fine and we'll get out of here together," Zack said.

"You know I will," Becky promised. "I'll see you tomorrow."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky was deep in thought as she picked at her dinner a few nights later. Her unit didn't seem to notice. They were still happy that they'd won their game of Capture The Flag that afternoon.

_That one wall of Zack's cell runs alongside one of those big air ducts. If he can loosen a block or two and cut through the duct, he can crawl through it to the roof on that side of the building. It's only a three-story jump from that point, he can clear it easy. Max's cell, if I remember correctly..._ "Penny for your thoughts, 405?" 773 asked.

"Sorry," Becky said. "I was just trying to remember something."

"You've been quiet today," 570 said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Becky said. She managed a smile. "Some of my classes have been a real pain lately."

"Yeah, they've been tougher on us the last few weeks especially," 773 said.

"A guy in my field med class thinks that it's because Renfro's going though menopause and she's taking out on the trainers who are taking it out on us," 392 said, shrugging.

The rest of the unit groaned. "That's gotta be one of the lamest things I have ever heard," 058 said.

"Yeah," 367 said. "He's designed with an IQ way off the charts and that's the best idea he can come up with?"

"Let me guess...583?" Becky said.

"Yeah," 392 said.

"Sounds like him," Becky said. "He's got a juvenile sense of humor."

"At least we have Culture after dinner and then we're done with training and classes for the day," 115 said. "We end with something easy tonight."

"Yeah, two hours of sitting in a room learning different ways to tell people where to shove it," 029 said.

"I thought you liked this class, 029," Becky said, surprised.

"I do," 029 said. "At least I did back in Gillette. I can't stand the moron who teaches it here, though. Nag, nag, nag. 'No, 029, it's presented this way' or '029, formal etiquette does not include elbows on the table.'"

"Nah, I just think you suck at formal etiquette," 773 teased. That got a laugh out of everybody except 029, who just gave 773 a dirty look.

"Weather's starting to look nasty," 115 remarked.

"Think it's gonna rain?" 392 asked.

"The way it's looking? Hell yeah," 691 said.

"Definitely looks like the shit's gonna hit the fan," 367 said.

Becky looked thoughtful again. "You guys? Do you think it's gonna hit the fan? Around Manticore, I mean. I don't know about you guys, but I've been getting the impression over the last three months and especially these past few weeks, that there's a ticking time bomb that's gonna explode any minute and it's gonna be nasty."

"I know what you mean," 144 said. "Everybody seems to get just a little more tense as the days go by."

"I even heard that they're recalling most of us from the field," 887 said. "Just yesterday I remember seeing about 4 X5s come back from a mission they'd only been sent on last week, and someone in my psych warfare class told me that she'd seen a whole bunch of other X-series come back from solo missions."

"Maybe they decided this breeding program was of a higher priority," 058 suggested.

"Could be," 887 admitted. "But I think she said one of the Xs she'd seen coming back was 108 from Seattle X6 Unit 3 and none of the X6s are in the breeding program yet. Right, 405?"

"Right," Becky said. "Here's hoping we don't get shoved into the breeding program."

"Hey, it's an excuse to get laid!" 773 said cheerfully. That got him slaps on the back of the head from 691 and 029, who were sitting on either side of him. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Besides, it's not like you get to pick who you get to screw," 115 said. That got him a smack from Becky. "Damn, 405, not so hard."

"Men," Becky, 691, 392, 367, and 029 said in unison, which got them glares from 115, 773, 570, 058, 887, and 144.

"Like you could do without us," 144 said.

"You wish," 029 said.

The bell signifying the end of dinner sounded. "Saved by the bell," Becky said gratefully. "Come on, you guys, let's drag 029 to Culture."

"Hey!" 029 said, though she smiled.

They got up and marched out of the cafeteria. As she was leaving, Becky took one more look out the window. She shivered and shook her head and left the room with her unit, the uneasy feeling she'd had all evening still lingering.

* * *

Renfro sat at her desk sometime later that night, looking over files on her computer and tapping her fingernails against the desk's surface. Her phone rang. "Director Renfro here. Yes, I did see the broadcast he made this afternoon. Are you sure? He hasn't revealed the location yet. No, Lydecker is certainly a lot of things but he isn't completely stupid. If he's still alive, he wouldn't be caught near someone quite so high profile. I understand, it is better to be safe than sorry. Of course, it will be done within the hour. I will meet with you tomorrow at noon in the office. Yes, I'll see you then. Good bye."

"Director Renfro? I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving now," her secretary said, poking her head into Renfro's office just as Renfro hung up the phone.

"Very well," Renfro said. "Take tomorrow off, I won't be coming into the office myself."

"Thank you," the secretary said. She left.

Renfro shook her head and took out her cell phone, and dialed a number and began speaking in French to the person on the other end of the line. "Il est moi. J'ai juste reçu la commande pour brûler le service. Non, il ne nous a pas exposés réellement, mais le comité ne veut pas prendre une chance. Non, nous ne l'avons pas trouvé encore. Vous avez raison, si on le cense être alors lui ou elle survivra ceci.. Merci, bonne nuit." She disconnected and pressed a button on her intercom panel.

"Yes?" a male voice answered.

"Bring X5-452 to my office immediately," she ordered.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11a

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Takes place alongside chapter 43 of "Dysfunctional."

Max looked suspiciously at the two guards that were escorting her from her cell to Renfro's office. _First Alec actually doesn't show up at my cell and now this. I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything to piss Renfro off that I haven't already done in the past couple of months, but maybe she's in a creative mood_. When the three of them reached the office, one of the guards opened the door and nudged Max inside.

"Reporting as ordered, ma'am," Max said sarcastically.

"Ah, 452," Renfro said. "So glad you made it here."

"I would hate to disappoint you," Max said sweetly.

"Charming," Renfro said. "I wanted to have a little chat with you about your friend, Eyes Only."

"What about him," Max said. She shrugged, but she felt her stomach flip-flop a little. _What does this bitch want? You'd think she'd know I won't say a damn word about Logan._

"He must think very highly of you, 452, for him to be pursuing us this intensely," Renfro said casually.

"He has good taste. What more can I say?" Max said.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, 452," Renfro said. "Where is Eyes Only and who is Eyes Only."

"And I'm going to tell you one more time," Max said, looking Renfro right in the eye. "I'm not going to tell you who and where he is."

"Well then," Renfro said. "Allow me to congratulate you on sending everybody here to their deaths."

Max narrowed her eyes. _Crap, Becky was right!_ "What are you talking about?"

"I just received a phone call from the committee," Renfro said, smirking triumphantly. "They decided that they didn't want to take anymore chances and wait for Eyes Only to expose our location. Within an hour, this whole building will be nothing more than a pile of ash and twisted metal. Did I mention that all of you animals are going to be locked inside their cells while the building burns? I'm just going to take this disc here--" She ejected a CD out of her computer, placed it in a jewel case, and slid it inside one of her suit pockets. "—which contains the entire Manticore database, and I'm going to go on my way and at some point in the future make new soldiers, better ones. Manticore will continue on, 452. Nothing you can do will stop it."

"Over my dead body," Max said.

"Funny you should mention that," Renfro said coldly. She turned to the guards. "Ki—" Max didn't even let her finish her sentence before she made her move, grabbing one guard's rifle, spinning around and slamming the butt of it into the face of the second one and kicked the first guard in the head. Renfro rushed to her desk when she saw Max attack the guards and picked up her phone and hit a button. "This is Director Renfro authorizing Operation Omega. Repeat, commence Operation Omega."

"You bitch," Max yelled, running to Renfro and knocking her to the ground. She got down on the floor and grabbed Renfro's throat with one hand and raised the other, ready to punch.

"It's over, 452," Renfro said, coughing. "You can't save them."

Max lowered her free hand. "As long as I'm breathing, there's a chance." She reached behind Renfro's neck and snapped it. She started to stand up, paused, grabbed the CD from Renfro's suit pocket and shoved it into one of her own pants pockets before she ran like hell to the control room.

* * *

Zack lay on his bunk, staring at the ceiling silently. It had been a relatively quiet night for him, which put him on his guard more so than usual.

_This isn't right,_ he thought. _They normally take me back over to Psy Ops at some point after dinner to screw around with my head for a few more hours before they dump me back here so I can sleep. It's got to be close to ten-thirty and they haven't come by yet._ He sighed to himself. _I can't wait until Max and I get out of here. Still, I wish I could take Becky and Brin out with us. I have no idea where Brin is or even if she wants out again and Becky...I'd do the same for my family if I was in her situation._ He got up and walked over to the mirror that was above the small sink in one corner of the cell.

_Good grief, I look like hell. Like they'd really care what I look like. Just as long as I'm X5-599, good soldier, does what he's told, they wouldn't give a shit. Screw that. Never again. They couldn't break me six months ago when I turned myself in to Lydecker, and they're damn well not going to break me now. Between me, Max, and Becky, we'll find a way out of here soon and then I won't have to put up with this again._ Zack nodded to his reflection and went back over to his bunk and lay down and closed his eyes, only to open them when he heard a sound coming from the cell door...

* * *

"...98...99...100," Becky counted. She got up off the floor of her cell and brushed herself off and started pacing restlessly. The weather outside had stayed the same, looking as if a nasty storm was coming at any minute.

_I hate this kind of weather, ever since I can remember. It's not good, but it's not completely bad, it's like it's like...it's that little kid I saw when I was on that mission two years ago that was trying to walk along a curb and just about to completely lose his balance and fall. Something's about to happen, it's pretty damn inevitable at this point, and it's gonna be nasty. She bit her lip as unwanted memories hit her. I remember it was like this outside when they took 662 away seven years ago. Damnit, she hadn't done anything wrong! It wasn't even her that fired the stray bullet that accidentally hit and killed that trainer and they all knew it. They fucking knew it and they blamed it on her anyway because they didn't know who the hell did it and they needed someone to blame it on and poor 662 happened to be standing first in line-up so it was just all the easier to grab her to haul her off to Psy Ops, wasn't it? _She closed her eyes. _I really dodged a bullet when they didn't throw me in Psy Ops when I found out who did fire that shot. That little bastard 427 from unit 5 had fired the shot and didn't say a damn word when they dragged 662 away! I was lucky I ended up with only a few weeks in solitary after the beating I gave him. I never saw 427 again, thank goodness._

A soft metallic _thunk-click_ made Becky jump and turn around. _Why the hell would they be locking the cell doors now? We're not supposed to lock down for the night for at least an hour._ She walked towards the door when she froze in her tracks. Smoke. She could distinctly smell smoke.

_No. No way. They can't..._ She heard a distant bang, followed by another one that sounded a little closer. _Shit!_ She grabbed her personal guns and some spare clips from a drawer, shoved them in her pants pockets and tried to open the door. It wasn't moving. She tried kicking it. Still nothing.

"Come on!" she screamed. She could hear the explosions getting closer and it smell the smoke and fire getting closer. "Open, damnit!" She kicked the door again unsuccessfully. "Come on!"

TBC


	12. Chapter 11b

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared in the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Why the fuck won't this thing open!" Becky yelled. She tried desperately to calm down. The fire was coming closer to her with each passing second. _Stay calm, Becky, stay calm. You can and will get out of here. As long as you are breathing, you have a chance to get out of this mess. I'm sure as hell going to take this chance!_

"Easier said than done," she mumbled. Becky took a deep breath and resumed kicking the door with the same results. She was on the verge of screaming in frustration again when she saw someone blur past her door. She grinned, checked the clips in her guns to make sure they were full, and waited.

_Come on, Max, hurry..._

* * *

Max reached the control room after what seemed like forever and flung the door open. The two techs inside, who were about to leave themselves, just stared at her with their eyes and jaws wide open.

"Change in plans," Max said, flinging the techs out of the room. She quickly scanned the buttons and slammed several. She looked up at the monitors, two of them in particular, grinned, and ran like hell out of the room.

* * *

Zack bolted the millisecond his cell door opened. He'd memorized the map of the facility that Becky had shown him and knew exactly where he was going. _Becky or Max. It had to have been one of them who sprung us_. He slammed a door open and started to bolt up a staircase. He'd made it halfway up when there was another explosion close by, followed by some rumbling that threw Zack to his feet. He heard screams and the sickening sound of bodies being crushed under debris.

"No!" an X6 a few years younger than Becky wailed. She ran past Zack and started to desperately toss aside pieces of the ceiling. Four others joined her.

"It's too late for them," Zack said. "There's no way that they survived and if you guys don't get moving, you'll be dead, too."

"Half of my unit's in there," the X6 said. "Our C.O. and second-in-command are underneath those rocks!"

They all ducked as another explosion somewhere in the building shook the stairway. "They wouldn't want you to die," Zack said. "I know how hard it is to leave you unit mates, your family, behind. But they would want you to go on, so let's move! Now!"

The five X6s looked at Zack for a moment. He was an '09er and they had been taught for years that all of the '09ers were traitors, but they had also been taught that the X5s were their superior officers and to obey them when they gave them an order, but Manticore had also betrayed them when they locked them in their cells to die. The teenagers looked at him and nodded and followed him the rest of the way up the stairs.

* * *

"Yes!" Becky yelled triumphantly when her cell door opened. She flew out of it and waited for the rest of her unit as they left their cells. She gestured for them to follow her as she raced down the hallway to the nearest staircase.

"What the hell's going on?" 392 demanded.

"Why are they trying to kill us?" 029 asked.

"And who was that that ran down the hall a minute before the doors opened?" 570 asked.

"That bitch Renfro apparently wanted us toast, they're sadistic bastards, and the person who probably just saved all our asses by opening the doors was 452," Becky said.

"452? The 09er?" 115 said.

"Yeah," Becky said.

"Why would an '09er save all of us? I thought they hated everything that had to do with Manticore," 887 said.

"Not everything," Becky said. "They're not the bad guys. They never were the bad guys."

"Yeah," 773 said. "We did just almost get fried by Renfro. Maybe the '09ers had the right idea way back when."

Becky nodded as they reached the top of the staircase and followed other transgenics out of the door. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"When we get outside," Zack yelled over the noise as he flung open the door at the top of the staircase. "Just go straight for the fence and get over and head to ground. Don't stop and don't let anybody stop you."

"Yes, sir!" the X6s following Zack chorused as they followed another group of transgenics towards a larger door a few feet down the hallway.

"Good luck," Zack said as they headed out the door.

* * *

Max kicked open a side door and burst outside and started running. She looked over to her left, looking at the fleeing transgenics for any sign of Zack and Becky or even Brin. She headed in that direction but hit the ground as bullets flew overhead.

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" Becky screamed as she and her unit hit the ground.

"Who the hell is shooting at us?" 115 asked.

Becky looked up and zoomed in. "It's those little bastard X7s. They don't have a clue that Renfro and everyone stabbed us in the back. They must think that we're escaping just like 599 and 452 and their unit did back in '09."

"We can't stay pinned down like this," 691 said. "We're too damn close to the building."

"Right," Becky said. "Let's move." They got up and started running again, only to hit the ground again as the X7s fired in their direction again.

"Are we ever going to get out of here?" 029 shrieked.

_Oh God, this must have been what it was like for Zack and Max and their family back in '09,_ Becky thought, her mind reeling. _Except they don't want to recapture us, they just want us dead!_ She mentally shook her head. _Keep it together, Becky. If Zack could get his family out when he was thirteen, you can damn well do it at seventeen!_ "Let's go," she said out loud. She whipped out her two guns from her pockets. "Split up when you get past the fence, no more than three per group. Don't look back, no matter what. I'll cover for you."

"Do you sleep with those things underneath your pillow?" 773 joked.

Becky had to smile. _Leave it to 773 to crack a joke at a time like this._ "That's right. I would have taken the bazooka under my mattress, but I only have two hands. Move!"


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Logan sat at his kitchen table, picking at a late snack. It had been a long day. He'd spent his morning and early afternoon with his Aunt Margo, listening to her whine about his cousin had practically 'abandoned' her since his uncle had died, though Logan knew perfectly well that Bennett had visited with or at least called his mother once a day.

_Good ol' Bennett,_ he thought. _The only sane person in the family other than my mother, God rest her soul. Dad was almost as bad as Uncle Jonas and Aunt Margo could have been plucked straight from one of those pre-pulse soaps that Mom used to love watching when I was at school._ He finished his food and put the plate and fork in the sink and wheeled into his computer room, but stopped short of pulling up to the computer itself. After he'd gotten back to the penthouse from his visit with his aunt, he'd made another Eyes Only broadcast threatening to find and reveal Manticore's location. Then there'd been the phone call he'd gotten from Lydecker only minutes afterwards...

* * *

"_Cale."_

"_Good to hear from you too, Lydecker. What do you want? Did you finally decide that you want to tell me where you think Manticore might be now?"_

"_Do you really think these broadcasts are going to help you get Max back? She's dead. You have to accept it."_

"_I won't accept it."_

"_Look, son, I've been in your place before. When my wife died, I'd refused to believe it. Even the day of her funeral, looking at her in her casket, I refused to believe that she was really dead. It was a long time before I started to accept it and really move on with my life."_

"_And we all know what you did."_

"_Listen, Cale. You need to stop doing these broadcasts."_

"_Why? Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you there with us that night helping us to blow the DNA lab? Didn't you want to bring down Manticore?"_

"_Son, that project used to be my life. I know everything about it. If funding is cut, the X-series soldiers would have been quietly dispersed into the world, under orders not to reveal their true identities to anyone. If you find and reveal the location, the committee in charge of overseeing Manticore and other such projects will authorize Renfro to cauterize the site. That means that every soldier, not just the X5s, will be killed. Do you really want all of those deaths on your hands, Cale, all in the name of revenge? I once thought of going after my wife's murderer myself, but I knew that I'd just be throwing my life away if I did that and that my wife wouldn't want that for me. Do you think that Max would want the same for you?"_

"_No, she'd want me to move on."_

"_You're right."_

* * *

"You look like you've got something on your mind."

Logan almost jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. He turned around and his jaw dropped in shock. "Max? It can't be..."

"I know. I've heard that before," Max said.

"How...?"

"Heart transplant," Max said. "You've probably heard of them." She smiled and leaned down and hugged him. "I missed you, Logan."

"I missed you so much, Max," he said. "More than I can say..."

"I know," Max said.

"What happened?" Logan asked. "How did you escape this time?"

"Oh, your broadcasts only provoked Renfo into torching the place," Zack said coldly.

Logan broke the hug and saw Zack and a girl in her late teens standing in the room's doorway. Something about the girl was familiar, but Logan was pretty sure he'd never seen her before. "Zack."

"Logan," Zack replied.

"Who's she?" Logan asked.

"She escaped with us," Max said.

"Are you sure, Max?" Logan said. "She could be someone that Manticore..."

"I know you're a human, but even you should have been able to hear Zack tell you what happened," the girl said, her voice almost as icy as Zack's. "The name's Becky, otherwise known as X6-405. Thanks for the vote of confidence, by the way. Oh, and thank you for almost getting us and my unit and not to mention every other transgenic nearly fried by Renfro or shot at or shot by one of those little prick X7s. That was just what I needed to complete my day."

Logan blinked. "Hello to you, too."

"Sorry," Becky said. She managed to smile a little. "It hasn't exactly been the best of days."

"I understand," Logan said.

"Do you have a secure line available that's ready to use?" Zack asked.

"Yeah," Logan said. He picked up the receiver of the cordless phone that was next to the computer and handed it to Zack. "Take your time."

"Thanks," Zack said. He walked back into the living room.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Max said. She reached into one of her pants pockets and pulled out the CD that she'd taken from Renfro. "Brought you back a souvenir."

"What is it?" Logan asked.

"Manticore's database," Max said. "Before she lit the match, Renfro had me brought over to her office so she could gloat. She was gonna take the database and start over, Manticore would always live on, blah, blah, blah. I thought you could use a new hobby."

"Gee, thanks," Logan said. He popped the disk in and looked at the prompt that popped up on his monitor. "Neither of you would happen to know any passwords that might help, would you?"

"Nope, sorry," Max said.

"No," Becky said. "I don't have a clue."

Logan nodded and kept trying to navigate through the disc's contents. He tried typing several different commands, but was always re-directed back to the original window. Finally, after nearly twenty minutes, he gave up and sighed. "It'll take at minimum a few days for me to crack the passwords for this disc."

"Should give you something to do between meals," Max said. "I missed those." She turned to Becky. "Logan has to be the greatest cook alive. You should try some of his cooking some time."

"I might, if I decide to stick around," Becky agreed.

"I got in touch with the others," Zack said as he re-entered the room. "They're all fine. I'll be heading out to check on them as soon as I get some new clothes and a new bike."

"I should be getting some clothes and some kind of transportation myself," Becky said.

"Should I even bother asking where you'll be, Max?" Zack asked.

Becky looked at the way that Zack was glaring at Logan. "I'll stay."

"What?" Zack asked.

"I think I'll stay here in Seattle, at least to start with," Becky said. "If things get dicey, I'll be out of here, but staying here for the time being seems like the best option." Zack gave her a look, but she briefly looked over to Logan before looking back at Zack and Zack nodded.

"Great!" Max said. "You can crash with me and Original Cindy until you find your own place."

"Original Cindy?" Becky repeated.

"My roommate," Max said. "Speaking of which, I should get going back to my place and make sure my baby is okay. Not that I think Cindy turned it into a clothes rack like Kendra used to do, but..."

"Her bike," Zack explained to Becky before Becky could ask.

"Oh," Becky said.

"You guys coming with?" Max asked.

"Yeah, we'll be right behind you," Zack said.

"All right," Max said.

"Max, do you have to..." Logan began.

"I'll be back tomorrow after work," Max promised. She left the room.

"Nice to meet you," Becky said. The three transgenics left, leaving Logan by himself at his computer with a big grin on his face.

_She's back. She's back!_

TBC


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Now, why the hell are ya banging on the door at this hour?" Original Cindy said as she walked to the front door of her and Max's apartment. "Figures, the one night that Original Cindy decides to go to bed at a vaguely decent hour..." She flung open the door to see Max and Becky standing there, Max with a big grin on her face. "Holy shit."

"Didn't want you to get too used to living without a roommate," Max said. She gave Original Cindy a big hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, boo," Original Cindy said. She let go of Max and looked Becky up and down. "And who is this fine piece of eye candy you be bringing Original Cindy's way?"


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** I missed the season 2 episode that mentioned what happened to Herbal, so I'm just making up my own explanation of why he's not there.

"Here we are," Max said. "Jam Pony. Normal's the guy who runs the joint."

"He's gonna be thrilled to see you," Original Cindy deadpanned.

"He can contain himself," Max said.

Becky looked amused. "Okay..."

"You'll see what we mean," Max said. She led the three of them into the building.

"Excuse me? What do you think you're doing here, miss?" Normal demanded.

"Coming into work," Max said.

"After not bothering to show up for three months?" Normal said. "I don't think so."

"I had a medical emergency come up. It wasn't like I had time to tell you," Max said.

"Medical emergency, huh?" Normal said. "Do you have any proof?"

"Yeah, but it's not something that's exactly polite to show in public," Max said cheerfully.

Normal raised an eyebrow, but motioned to Max to follow him into his office. They came out a minute later, Normal looking subdued and Max with a big smirk on her face. He turned to Becky. "Who are you?"

"I need a job," Becky said. "Max and Cindy said that I could find one here."

"Very well," Normal said. He picked up a clipboard and pen. "Name?"

"Rebecca Donovan."

"Age?"

"Seventeen."

"Experience?"

"I know how to ride a bike."

"Sounds good enough to me," Original Cindy remarked.

"Sadly, you're right," Normal said. "Okay, you're hired. Grab a bike off of that rack and I guess one of these reprobates will take you on their runs for the next day or two until you get to know the city well enough to be able to make runs on your own. There should be some empty lockers over there. Here's a lock and a sector pass." He reached underneath the counter and tossed Becky a combination lock and a pass.

"Thank you," Becky said.

"Hey, look who's back!" Sketchy exclaimed. "Where the hell have you been, Max?"

"I had an emergency come up," Max said, shrugged. "Had to get a heart transplant."

"Oh," Sketchy said. His face lit up. "Can I see your scar?"

Original Cindy smacked him across the back of his head. "Fool."

"Ouch," Sketchy complained. He noticed Becky standing with Max and Original Cindy and grinned.

"This is Becky. She's an old friend of mine," Max said. "And she's not eighteen yet, so don't even think about it."

"Damn," Sketchy said, disappointed. "Please tell me that you'll be turning eighteen soon."

"Can you get your head out of the gutter for once in your life?" Original Cindy complained.

"Sorry," Sketchy said. "So, Becky, where do you know Max from?"

"We used to go to elementary school together until she and her family moved out of state," Becky said. "I got into town recently and met up with her again by accident. Didn't know that she was here."

"Well, welcome to Jam Pony," Sketchy said. "It's cool here, if you don't mind Normal over there."

"Thanks," Becky said.

"Hey, where's Herbal?" Max asked, looking around. "He late for work again?"

Original Cindy shook her head. "No, Herbal left town about a month after you disappeared. His girlfriend actually got a real job down in Oregon. He stops by from time to time, though."

"Oh," Max said.

"Who was Herbal? A friend of yours?" Becky asked as she stuffed her things in an empty locker near Max and Original Cindy's.

"Yeah," Max said as she put her own things away. "Maybe you'll meet him sometime." She turned to Original Cindy. "I can't believe nobody claimed my locker."

"Believe it," Original Cindy said. "Some fool did once. I told him that I kept my emergency tampons in there and he was away from that locker before you could blink."

Becky snickered. "I used that same line once. When I was o—in high school, some nimrod thought it would be funny if he would plant some dye in one of my dresser drawers. I caught him and he said he needed something and that he'd heard I'd had what he needed so I told him he was looking in the wrong place and that was where I kept my tampons. I've never seen anybody go that pale before in my life."

"Men," Max said.

"Hey," Sketchy protested. "Not all men are like that. I don't get squeamish at anything that has to do with female anatomy."

"Trying to pick up women doesn't count," Original Cindy said.

"If you slackers are done chatting, I've got a hot run," Normal shouted.

"I'll take it," Max said. "Come on, Becky. Grab a bike and let's get going."

"Okay," Becky said. She walked over to the rack of unclaimed bikes and took one.

"Lunch, usual time and place, right?" Max said over her shoulder as she grabbed the package from Normal.

"Right," Sketchy said.

"See ya guys later," Max said. She and Becky left.

TBC


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Hey, Logan," Max said as she entered Logan's apartment later that day. "Told you I'd be back after work."

"Max," Logan said. He turned around and walked over.

Max smiled. "I see you're wearing those braces again."

"I wear them from time to time," Logan said. "Depends on what I need to do and if I'm gonna be spending a lot of time in public or not."

"Cool," Max said. "I brought Becky here with me. I hope you don't mind."

"No," Logan said, trying to hide his disappointment. "I don't mind."

"I'm sorry," Becky said. "I don't really know anybody in Seattle except you guys, and Original Cindy had a date. If you guys want some alone time, just let me know and I'll go in the other room."

"Thank you," Logan said. She seemed much more reasonable and friendly than Zack. "I want to get to know you anyway."

"So, Logan, get anywhere in cracking the passwords on that disc?" Max asked.

"I'm getting somewhere," Logan said. "The security's even tighter that I'd originally thought that it was. It seems to be structured pretty much the way that I expected it to be: the higher the priority of the files, the heavier the encryption. Everything on the X-series seems to be among the most heavily encrypted files."

"Makes sense," Becky said. "We were the most versatile and consequently we had the most potential of any of the soldiers that Manticore produced."

"I only have the passwords to some basic files decrypted so far," Logan said. "It seems to read pretty much like an instruction manual or a textbook."

"If they had to bring in someone new, that kind of format would help them get up to speed," Max said.

"Anything interesting in those files or is it pretty much just a 'Hi, this is Manticore. Our purpose is to...' kind of deal?" Becky wondered.

"That's pretty much the gist of it," Logan said.

"Oh," Max said.

"Don't worry," Logan said. "Max, these things take time."

Becky nodded. "He's right. The instructors in IT would tell us that all the time."

"I must have bailed before they started with the harder programming and hacking lessons," Max said. "I remember the basics and I can do some file hacking, but anything serious like this is beyond me, at least it is right now."

"Becky, do you mind..." Logan said.

"Nope," Becky said. "I'll be in the other room." She walked out, leaving Max and Logan by themselves in the living room.

"Max, I missed you," Logan said.

"I missed you, too," Max said. "I thought of you almost every day. You helped me keep my head on straight while I was stuck there."

"Max, I..." Logan bent down to kiss her on the lips. Max responded, but gently pushed Logan away before he could deepen the kiss.

"Later," she said.

"But, Max, I thought you wanted to continue what we were going to have," Logan said.

"I do," Max said. She looked down for a moment before looking back at Logan. "I really do, but I want to take things slow. I know, you've been waiting for the past three months for me but our relationship was only starting to build when I got recaptured by Manticore. We need to pick up where we left off, not where we might have been if I hadn't disappeared off the face of the earth three months ago." She smiled at him. "Logan, I want this relationship to work. I want it to go right. It's like decrypting those passwords on the database: it will take time. We have the time now. I'm out of Manticore and there's no way that they can take me back again now."

"You're right," Logan said. "You're absolutely right. I can't help thinking about where we should be right now, though. That helped me get through the last three months."

"I know," Max said. "We will—" Her cell phone rang. "Excuse me for a sec." She walked into the other room.

Logan sat down on the couch and sighed. _She wants to take it slow. She is right. I agree with her completely. I want this relationship to be the most perfect thing I have ever done. I'm not going to have it blow up in my face like my train wreck of a marriage did._

"Penny for your thoughts?" Becky asked.

Logan turned around and saw her standing behind him. "You startled me."

"Sorry," Becky apologized. "Max wanted some privacy while she took her phone call, so I thought I'd come back in here." She smiled. "You said you wanted to get to know me better, so now's as good a chance as you're probably gonna get."

"True," Logan said. "You don't look like you're that much younger than Max."

"I'm not," Becky said. "Only about three years." She sighed. "Sorry, I'm just getting a little sick about talking about myself. Zack, Max, Original Cindy...it's just getting a little old."

Logan laughed. "I can see what you mean. If you're not that much younger than Max, then you'd be one of the older X6s?"

"The oldest," Becky confirmed. "Commanding Officer of X6 Unit 1 back in Gilette, as well as that facility's entire group of X6s. Had to really earn that last one." She grinned to herself when she saw Logan look a little nervous. _Good. He should be kept on his toes._

"Are you guys upgrades of the X5s since you're one generation after them? Is that how it works?" Logan asked.

"We were supposed to be upgrades of the X5s, but for the most part we aren't," Becky said. "I think that's mostly how it works, but I know that some generations are designed for certain purposes, like the X7s." _Like I'm going to tell him that I am an upgrade. Gotta keep something in reserve when dealing with a potential threat, even if it's only a threat to your best friend's love life._

"You seem a little more reasonable than Zack. That guy just flat out hates me," Logan said. "Krit didn't take too much of a shine to me himself when we met a few months ago, though Syl seemed a little nicer."

_Gee, I wonder why._ "Maybe it's a male X5 thing," Becky offered.

"That was Zack," Max said. "He was giving me the new contact number. He wanted me to pass it onto you. I'll give it to you when we get back to the apartment."

"Great," Becky said with a grin.

"I should get going," Max said. "You up for going to Crash tonight, Becky?"

"Sure," Becky said. "It was nice seeing you again, Logan."

"It was nice seeing you again too, Becky," Logan said.

"I'll call or stop by tomorrow," Max promised. She and Becky left the penthouse and got in the elevator. "I still wish he'd gotten more of the database cracked. It'll be nice to know more about ourselves."

"I know," Becky said. "I'm sure he'll get it cracked soon."

"I know he will," Max said. "I've got complete faith in him. In everything."

Becky looked at Max, but didn't say anything. _I'm glad you have faith in him, 'cause I sure don't. I don't have a good feeling about Logan, but I guess actions speak louder than words. I'll give him a chance and play nice for your sake, but if he steps out of line one way or another, all bets are off. I don't know why I don't have a good feeling about him. Maybe it's just a personality conflict. I guess all I can do is watch and let him prove himself one way or another._

TBC


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic.

Notes: Some spoiler-ish stuff for the season 2 episode "Proof of Purchase", though this is AU.

Ames White walked down the hall to his office, as assistant trailing behind him. "Anything new?"

"We've managed to catch several trangenics yesterday," the assistant said. He opened the file he was carrying. "One transhuman, two anomalies, two X8s, and one of the X9s that managed to make it out. We were lucky that the X9s were so young, we estimate that at least half of them were killed in the fire, and that's only if every X9 that was at least two years of age made it out, which means that it's more likely than not that most of that generation is gone."

"Good," White said. "Makes our job easier." He opened the door of his office and he and the assistant went in. "Anything else?"

"Our men finished combing all three sites as you ordered," the assistant said. "We didn't find anything at the site at Gilette and at the site north of Syracuse, which was what we expected. Manticore did a good job of cleaning out those two facilities when they consolidated everything to the Seattle facility. Again, we pretty much found what we expected to find at the site of the fire. Transgenic remains, a few human remains that we assume are personnel that weren't able to evacuate the area in time, some equipment that hadn't completely burned but is in no shape to be used again any time in the near future, some medication in the area where the infirmary was located. And we did find some remains that we determined were that of Director Renfro's through dental records. We're running tests on them, but the preliminary reports indicate that she was already dead by the time the smoke or the fire could have killed her."

"What about the Manticore database?" White asked. "I'm assuming it was kept on file in the records or on a disk of some kind."

"It was kept on a CD and there was only one copy, apparently for security reasons," the assistant said. "Director Renfro had the copy at the time of the fire, and there was no trace of the CD found, so we assumed that it also burned. We did, however, find this." He put a steel briefcase on White's desk. "It was found in the area where Director Renfro's office was located. We haven't opened it yet because we thought you would like to have the honor."

"Thank you," White said. He flipped open the briefcase. "It's a CD dated the day of the fire, either personal or data not yet inputted into the database. Or it's another copy of the database that wasn't on record."

"Do you need anything else, sir?" the assistant asked.

"No," White said. "Keep me posted."

"Yes, sir," the assistant said. He quickly left the office.

White took out the CD and popped it into his computer and looked at the file directory that popped up on his monitor. "599 Psy Ops Report, 452 Psy Ops Report, Breeding...all dated that day. Looks like it is fresh information that she didn't get a chance to put into the database yet." He continued scanning the directory until one folder name caught his eye. "452 DNA?" He clicked on the folder and clicked on the file marked '452 DNA report' and began to read.

"'The completed DNA workup of X5-452 shows unusual results. While she has all of the standard X5 code sequencing, the detailed analysis revealed a complete lack of any junk DNA. 452...'" White continued to read silently until he finished reading the report, then closed the file and clicked on the one that had the graphical representation of the results. He nodded. "My, my, my...I might just have to see this one to believe it." He clicked on the 452 Psy Ops report and had just started to read that when his assistant burst into the office again.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but we just had a development," he said.

"What is it?" White asked.

"One of our men just outside of Seattle just phoned in," the assistant said. "We have a possible transgenic sighting."

"Only a possible one?" White said, raising an eyebrow.

"The agent bumped into a man in a diner while he was having breakfast. The man had apparently attended one of those underground cage fights last night and was so enthusiastic about it that he gave our agent a full description of last night's events and fighters, including a young man in his early twenties with a tattoo that looked suspiciously like a barcode on the back of his neck. The young man had beaten several other men twice his size. He won a considerable sum of money. Our agent asked around and it looks as if the young man will be returning to fight again tonight."

"Good work," White said. "I'll take a team out tonight. Do you know the time and location of these fights?"

"Yes, sir," the assistant said.

"Excellent," White said. "Good work."

"Thank you, sir," the assistant said. He left the office.

"You might have to wait, but it won't be long," White said to himself as he looked at the picture of Max that was attached to the report he was reading. "Not long."

TBC


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** More spoiler-ish stuff for "Proof of Purchase" as well as the pilot.

"You seem like you're adjusting to life in Seattle pretty well," Max said as she and Becky walked down a street one day.

"Yeah, it's not bad here," Becky said. "It's so much better than life back at Manticore."

"No argument here," Max agreed.

"I'm glad to see that Logan's back doing his normal Eyes Only broadcasts," Becky said. "I just wish he would get off of my case about helping you out."

"Yeah, he gave me the same speech when we first met," Max said, rolling her eyes. "All that 'you have to do something to save the world' crap."

"Why did you decide to help him?" Becky asked.

Max grinned at the memory. "I first met him when he and his bodyguard at the time walked in as I was robbing the penthouse. Unfortunately, he saw me jump a few stories to the ground as I was taking off. He got curious and he figured out who I am. He got me to go back to the penthouse under the premise of a date and he confronted me and I told him everything about who and what I was and then he told me his little secret and then he asked me to join him in his crusade. I refused. I mean, it's not like I don't want to help the world, far from it, but how am I supposed to play superhero when I'm supposed to lie low? He tried to lay a guilt trip on me. Long story short, a day or two later, I'm hanging at Jam Pony in between packages when a news bulletin comes up on the TV about a shooting and kidnapping. Logan's bodyguard was killed, the little girl that they were trying to protect was kidnapped, her mother used to work for a member of the mob and was gonna testify at a trial, and Logan was shot in the back, which explains the chair. Those braces he was using before are another long story that I'll get into another time. So I felt a little guilty and I visited Logan in the hospital, picked his wallet..." That got a laugh out of Becky as well as Max. "...and I wheeled his bed out of the room before it got fire bombed. Long story short, I ended up rescuing the little girl while having Lydecker on my tale at the same time. I dropped in on Logan at his penthouse a few months later. He agreed to help me find Zack and my other brothers and sisters if I helped him with Eyes Only, so I did and the rest is history."

"Some story," Becky said.

"Yeah, it's pretty whacked," Max said. "But then again, it's me."

"True," Becky said. She stopped suddenly and zoomed in on something. "Oh my..." She took off running.

"Becky? What's going on?" Max yelled as she followed her.

"115? Are you okay?" Becky asked as she helped her second-in-command off of the sidewalk.

"Yeah, I will be," he groaned.

Becky turned to look at the back of his neck and gasped at the sight of the bloody gauze taped to the back of his neck where his barcode was. "What the hell happened?"

"Got it cut off," 115 said.

"Cut off? Why?" Max asked.

"He said I was in trouble...he said that there wasn't enough time to go find a tattoo parlor or some laser to take it off," 115 said.

"Who said?" Becky said.

"494," 115 said.

"What?" Max said.

115 started to nod, but moaned in pain. "I think he might be the one in trouble, though. I heard him mumbling something about how this should save his ass with someone named White when he dumped me here and how he couldn't kill me like he had to kill the other two."

"Do you know where he was going after he left you here?" Becky asked.

"I think he headed off in that direction," 115 said. He pointed to his left. "But where he went from there, I have no clue."

"We should get to Logan's," Max said. "The penthouse isn't far from here and he can help us find Alec. He's got enough first aid for your sib, too."

Becky nodded. "Can you walk, 115?"

"Yeah, I should be okay," 115 said. The three of them walked quickly in the direction of Logan's penthouse. "Um, who are Logan and Alec? When did you meet up with 452?"

"I met up with 452 after the fire," Becky said. "Her name is Max, by the way. Logan is a norm friend of her's. He can be trusted." So far. "Alec is 494. Max named him."

"Oh," 115 said. "Do you have a name?"

"Becky," Becky said. "How about you?"

"Kyle," he said. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect for you," Becky assured him.

"We're here," Max said as they entered the building. They went up the elevator and over to and into the penthouse. "Logan. Emergency."

"Max, what happened?" Logan asked.

"This is my brother Kyle," Becky said. "Where's your first aid?"

"In the bathroom, I'll go get it," Logan said. He returned a moment later with a first aid kit and handed it to Becky.

"Thanks," Becky said. She took the kit and started to clean and redress Kyle's neck.

"What's going on?" Logan asked again.

"Alec cut off Kyle's barcode," Max said. "We think he was forced into it, though. Can you check to see reports of any dead bodied with patches of skin missing from the backs of their necks?"

"Sure," Logan said. "But why bodies?"

"He said he had to kill the other two," Kyle said. "Someone named White was making him do this."

"This White must be one of the people in charge of cleaning up Manticore's mess," Becky said.

"He must want proof that we've been eliminated," Kyle said. "But why didn't he kill me? Why did he just leave me by that hospital?"

"I don't know, Kyle," Becky said.

"Tapping into hover and security cams...got a hit," Logan said.

"What is it?" Max asked.

"Security cam footage of a sewer near the Terminal City area from this morning," Logan said. "Young man fighting and killing what looks like an anomaly."

"That's Alec, all right," Max said.

They watched as Alec easily defeated the anomaly and then sliced the barcode off and tucked it into a pouch that he slipped into his jacket pocket before walking away. "Maybe that's why he didn't kill you," Max said softly. "Maybe the other X-series were almost or as afraid of the 'nomilies as we were. It wouldn't be too much to kill one of them if we had to, but to have to kill an X-series? Someone that looks like us?"

"Yeah," Kyle agreed.

"Can you track him?" Becky asked.

"I can try," Logan said. He worked a few more moments while Max, Becky, and Kyle looked on silently over his shoulder. "Got him. Just entered a warehouse near the docks."

"Why do all bad guys like warehouses by the docks? There's gotta be some kind of manual," Max said, shaking her head. "You coming, Becky?"

"Definitely," Becky said. "Kyle, stay here."

"Becky, I can help you," Kyle said.

"I know you can," Becky said. "But I don't want to take a chance on you right now. This isn't the worst injury you've ever had, but you're not 100 percent right now and I don't want anything to happen to you if you go with us."

"All right," Kyle agreed quietly.

"Don't worry," Becky said. "We'll be back and we'll get all this straightened out. I promise."

TBC


	19. Chapter 18a

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** More spoiler-ish stuff for "Proof of Purchase."

"I hope he hasn't left yet," Becky whispered to Max as they waited outside of the warehouse.

Max shook her head. "He hasn't. Logan would have called us to let us know if he did."

"You need this?" Becky asked, offering Max her pistol.

"I don't do guns, remember?" Max said.

"I know, sorry," Becky said. "Thought I'd ask."

"I appreciate the concern," Max said. "See or hear anybody in the building?"

Becky narrowed her eyes and zoomed in on the warehouse. "I can't get a visual on anybody. I can hear some voices, but we're too far away for me to distinguish them." She blinked and turned back to Max. "Just from what I can see here, the warehouse seems to be one floor. If there's a cat walk or an alcove, it's on the opposite side of the building from where we are."

Max nodded. "There's no entrance here, so no guards. If we have to go in, we're gonna need to climb to get through one of those windows. Those drainpipes don't look too steady, though. Got any ideas?"

"Yeah," Becky said. "On my last mission, my first and only solo, I had to get into a warehouse with a similar setup. I ended up—" She abruptly stopped. "He's coming out."

Max picked up the sound of footsteps a short moment later. "Got him. Let me handle him. Stay back in case I need you."

"Got it," Becky said. She drew her gun and waited patiently for Max.

"You've been up to something, Alec," Max said. "Care to tell me what's going on?"

Alec jumped. "Geez, Max. You scared me."

"Sure. Like you probably scared Becky when she saw her younger brother bleeding and in pain on that sidewalk by that hospital," Max said.

"That guy was in her unit? Crap," Alec said.

"That doesn't matter," Max said. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'm in trouble," Alec said.

"Figures," Max said.

"Real trouble, Max," Alec said. "I got caught by the NSA agent in charge of hunting us down. I was making money in some cage fights and they found out about it and caught me."

"Real bright," Max said. "Alec, what were you thinking? It was underground so you'd be okay? You should have known that they would have been looking for us in places like that. I missed out on how many years of training and I knew that." She sighed. "Aside from that, why the hell did you agree to help these bastards?"

"I'm sorry that I wanted to live, okay?" Alec said. "What do you want me to say, Max, that I'm sorry I must still be enough of a sheep to do what I'm told? I wasn't going to do what they wanted me to do Max."

"Kill other transgenics and cut off their barcodes so this prick would have proof?" Max said.

"How did you find out that I killed the others?" Alec asked.

"I'll tell you later," Max said. "Just finish the story."

"I was trying to play them. I thought that if I told them 'okay, I'll go out and kill a couple of fellow transgenics' that they'd let me go and I could just skip town and go hide somewhere," Alec said. "Unfortunately, these guys weren't stupid. They implanted an explosive device in my neck close enough to my brain stem that when it blows...anyway, I killed the first two, but then the next one I came across was Becky's brother. I just—it's one thing when you have to kill something that gave you nightmares when you were a kid, you know? It was almost cathartic in a sick way. But when I saw him, I almost saw myself. Even though I didn't know who his commanding officer was when I ran into him, I never would have killed him."

"Good thing you didn't," Max said. "I've gotten to know Becky pretty well over the last week and if you had killed him and she'd found out, she would have killed you before you could blink."

"I knew White—that's the agent's name—would still want to see a barcode, so I convinced Becky's brother that he was the one in trouble so he would let me cut it off of him," Alec continued. "I think I fooled White, but he's still not happy enough. He wants me to show him proof that I've killed at least five transgenics total by midnight tonight, or the device they implanted will blow, they set it to run on a timer, and if I don't get at least one more in the next hour, he's gonna kill the two kids he's holding to be shipped off to be cut up." He shook his head. "Max, I'm sorry. I'm running out of time. I need to slice off your barcode."

"Are you crazy?" Max said. "No way. There's got to be another way we can get you out of this situation."

"There isn't," Alec said. "I would have found it by now. I need your barcode."

"No," Max said.

"I wish I didn't have to do this," Alec said, taking his gun out of his pocket and leveling it at Max, only to jump in shock as the gun was shot from his hand.

"Then don't," Becky said coldly. "Max, go inside and take care of this agent guy. It's my turn to deal with Alec."

"Got it," Max said, running towards the building.

"Thank you for not killing my brother," Becky said. "Max was right, that's the only thing keeping me from killing your sorry ass right now."

"I'm desperate," Alec said, picking up his gun and turning it on Becky. "I need two more barcodes by midnight tonight."

"I heard you the first time," Becky said, redrawing her own gun and pointing it right at Alec. "Nice situation we got here. I'm a faster shot, but it's not gonna matter too much at this close range." She paused. "Did you see the explosive before they implanted it?"

"What?" Alec repeated, confused. He lowered his gun.

"Did you see the explosive?" Becky repeated, not lowering her gun.

"Yeah, it was one of those new Japanese models," Alec said. "The silver ones that are an almost perfect ball shape, not like the European-made ones that are oval shaped. Why?"

"This is why," Becky said. In the blink of an eye, she grabbed Alec with her free hand and shoved him onto the ground and got down next to him, putting her ear against his neck near the base of his head.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alec said.

"Just shut up," Becky said. She closed her eyes in concentration for a few moments before she got up again and held her hand out to Alec to help him up. "It's a dud. You're okay."

"Excuse me? Run that by me again?" Alec said.

"Those new devices might be the best available right now, but they make a distinct clicking noise when they're armed," Becky said. "It's incredibly low, though. The sound is low enough to be outside of an X5's hearing range so they wouldn't know if it was armed or even if it had been implanted if the implantation had occurred while the X5 was unconscious, but X8s and those of us X6s who's abilities are up at that level can hear them if they listen closely enough. They taught us to be able to listen for them. White was the one who was playing you. You were in the clear the whole time."

Alec's jaw dropped. "Son-of-a-bitch. I just killed two anomalies for no reason..."

"In your defense, you had no clue that White was playing you," Becky said. "You couldn't have known."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that and I'm sorry I hurt your brother," Alec said.

Becky nodded. "I know." She turned back towards the warehouse. "I just hope that Max doesn't get caught in there."

TBC


	20. Chapter 18b

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes: **Spoiler-ish stuff for "Bag 'Em."

Max slipped through the side entrance that she and Becky had seen Alec come out of and ducked behind a crate. She stood up just enough so she could get a good look around the inside of the warehouse.

_There are those kids Alec mentioned,_ she thought as she stared at the X8 and the X9 in the cage by the wall. _Poor kids, that younger one can't be older than three! Only two or three people here other than these two. The question is, when are they going to leave so I can get these kids out of here? If none or only some of them leave, this could get tricky. In either case, I'm gonna have to hope that they didn't rig the cage with an alarm. I'd be all kinds of screwed if that's the case._ She ducked back behind the crate and waited until she heard a door open, then took another peek. _Two people leaving...and the third is going into that office. Now's my chance!_

She snuck out from behind the crate and walked up to the cage and held a finger to her lips, then signaled to the kids that she was going to get them out. They both nodded silently and Max took out her switchblade and got to work on the lock. After a few moments, she heard the lock retract and the door come loose. She opened the door the rest of the way and helped the two kids out of the cage and led them to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice said.

Max turned around and saw Ames White standing in front of her. "Just picking up some friends from day care. You?"

"Charming," White said. "You must be X5-452."

"How did you know?" Max said.

"Some files we recovered at the Manticore site," White said. "Director Renfro was not too happy with you."

"I have that effect on some people," Max said, shrugging. "Do you mind? I'm running a little late."

"You're gonna be running later," White said. "We found something interesting in the files we recovered. Did you know that Renfro ran a complete DNA analysis on you shortly before the fire?"

Max shrugged. "They took blood samples all the damn time and I never knew what they were for half the time. So?"

"According to the DNA analysis, you have no junk DNA in you," White said. "None."

"Hey, we were supposed to be made to be better than humans, right?" Max said.

"True, but not even transgenics have absolutely no junk DNA," White said.

"Whatever," Max said. "Nice chatting with you, but I'm gonna go home now."

"Not so fast," White said.

"You and what army?" Max said.

"The one that's coming back in through the front door," White replied, pointing to where several of his men were re-entering the building.

Max bit her lip, then grabbed her switchblade and hurled it towards a pipe. Steam poured out of the pipe, temporarily blinding White and his men and allowing Max and the two young X-series soldiers to escape. She picked up the X9 and they blurred over to Becky and Alec. "Move! Run!" They nodded and the five of them blurred away from the warehouse.

"Thank goodness you're okay," Becky said.

"Yeah," Max said. "Gonna need to get a new switchblade, but no big deal." She looked over with Alec. "Do we need to get the device out of him."

"At some point," Becky said. "They played him. White never armed the device. Alec's safe."

"Are we clear, ma'am?" the X8 asked as they slowed down.

Max checked behind her. "Yeah, we're clear. And you don't have to call me ma'am. Manticore's over. Call me Max."

"Okay," the X8 said.

"Should we snag a car?" Becky asked. "I know the girl's X9, but she's still gotta be only three or so and it's a long walk to Logan's from here."

"Good idea," Max said. "See anything suitable, Alec?"

"Yeah," Alec said, pointing to a minivan that was parked a block in front of them. "That one should do."

"Can I drive?" the X8 said hopefully. "I just learned how to drive."

Max shook her head and laughed. "Sorry, kid, but I don't think you can reach the pedals on that thing yet. One of us will drive."

"Darn," the X8 said.

Becky smiled. "Don't worry. You'll be tall enough to drive one of those before you know it."

They snuck up to the van. Alec picked the driver's side lock and got in. He unlocked the doors and quickly hotwired the engine and got it running. "Seatbelts, everyone?"

"Ass," Max said. She put on her seatbelt and turned around to face Becky, the X8, and the X9. "You got them settled in, Becky?"

"Yup," Becky said.

"Hit it," Max said. "Turn left at that light up ahead."

"Yes, ma'am," Alec muttered sarcastically. Max just smacked him and he shut up until the reached Logan's penthouse a few minutes later. He parked the minivan in the garage and they climbed out and went inside and up to the apartment.

"We're back," Max said. "Everything went according to plan."

"Great," Logan said, relieved.

"What about that guy White?" Kyle asked.

"Still alive," Max said. "I couldn't just get rid of him. The guy had backup coming, plus I had to make sure these two got out safe. I just created a diversion and got the hell out of there." She shrugged. "I need a new switchblade, but other than that everything went great. Saved Alec's sorry ass and we got these two out from under White's thumb. Logan, do you think you can help with these guys?"

Logan nodded. "Yes, but their barcodes are gonna be tricky to hide since they'll come back after they're removed."

"I'll go out and get some makeup for them," Max said. "We can make sure their barcodes are removed now and then show them how to use the makeup until they can get them removed again."

"But makeup is for girls," the X8 said.

"Would you rather get picked up by White?" Max pointed out.

The X8 shook his head. "No way. I'll take the makeup."

Becky smirked. "Kids. No matter what age or where they come from, they're all the same."

"I remember when we were all on that one mission a few years ago and I caught you girls putting makeup on," Kyle said. "And then 029 threw some at me." He shivered.

"Wuss," Becky said. "You're seventeen, Kyle. Grow up."

"Like that'll happen," Kyle said.

"I hate it when you're right," Becky said.

TBC


	21. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that were on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Finally!" Becky said as she dragged a couch into her new apartment. "I thought I'd never find my own apartment. No offense."

"None taken," Original Cindy said. She put a box down on the living room floor. "It was kinda crowded with three people in the place."

"It's only been a month," Max teased as she put down a coffee table. "That's pretty quick to get an apartment by Seattle standards. You got lucky that skank who was living here before got caught having an affair with someone by the guy's wife and skipped town."

"Nice of her to leave her appliances here too, ain't it?" Becky remarked, looking into her kitchen. "They're in pretty good condition, too."

"Where did you get this furniture?" Original Cindy asked.

"Some yard sales," Becky said, shrugging. "Plus some nice young men decided to help me out and give me some money so I could get that bed and this couch. They came up to me the other night as I was taking a walk and started a pleasant conversation with me. I offered to remove something from them that I thought was hindering their thought processes, and they repaid me by offering the money."

"Did you get the blood off of your knife?" Max asked.

Becky shook her head. "Didn't get any blood on it. They were sober enough to give me the money before I started cutting them off. At any rate, they'll think twice about coming onto any girl for a long time."

Max sat down in a chair. "Heard from your brother lately?"

"Yeah, I heard from Kyle yesterday," Becky said. "He's over in Reno. He's finally decided to stay more than a week in one place for awhile. I also got a call yesterday from my youngest sibling, my brother 058. He goes by Xavier now." She shook his head. "He's still an X-Men freak. Anyway, Zack actually spotted him just outside of Santa Fe. He saw his barcode and gave him my cell phone number."

"He's gotta be more careful if someone spotted his barcode, even if that someone was Zack," Max remarked.

"I know," Becky said. "That's what I told him when he called. I told Xavier he should get out of there just to be safe and he said he would. He's supposed to call me again tonight. I was thinking about heading out to wherever he settled down in to check up on him. Kyle, too."

"Getting Normal to give you time off is gonna be a bitch," Original Cindy said.

"Screw him," Becky said. "My family is more important than my job."

"He might," Max said. "She's been one of Normal's better ones since she started at Jam Pony. As long as she doesn't be away for too long, he should give her some time off."

Becky set the couch down on the living room floor and sat down on it. "I just wish I knew where more of my siblings were. I know where Kyle and Xavier are and I've actually seen Kyle since the fire, but I've still got four more sisters and four more brothers that are unaccounted for. I don't know where they are or what they're doing...I'm worried about them."

"What are they like?" Max asked. "You've never told us much about your family yet. How many of you guys are there?"

"Eleven total right now," Becky said. "There were fifteen of us originally, or at least there were supposed to be fifteen of us. In order, it was me, 213, he was a guy, Kyle, 367, she's a girl, 773, he's a guy, 144, he's a guy, 570, he's a guy, 691, she's a girl, 607, he was a guy, 392, she's a girl, 956, he was a guy, 887, he's a guy, 029, she's a girl, 662, she was a girl, and finally Xavier. And about eleven years ago, they transferred this girl 284 into our unit, but she and 029 ended up having so many problems getting along that Lydecker and the trainers deemed it detrimental to our unit's success, so they transferred 284 to another unit about a year-and-a-half after she was transferred to ours. 284 actually had problems getting along with a lot of people. She was transferred around three times before her final transfer to Unit 7. She seemed to get along with them the last time I heard."

"Were guys and were girls?" Original Cindy repeated.

"They're dead," Becky said softly. She bit her lip and looked down.

"What about your other brothers and sisters?" Max asked, noticing the change in Becky's mood.

"You've both met Kyle," Becky said. "I don't know what 213 was like because he died when he was only five months old. Heck, I was only about seven months old myself when he died. I only know about him because they told me about him later. Anyway, 367 is our comm specialist. Do not get her started on anything that involves boy bands. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it has something to do with something that happened on a mission that she and a few of the others went on a few years ago when I was away on different mission. 773 is the joker in our family. No matter how serious the situation is, he always has something funny to say or do. Kyle you know is relatively quiet, but when he and 773 would team up, 773 could succeed like no other in egging Kyle on. 144 is our explosives expert. I think he loves his job just a bit too much, but who am I kidding? I love big explosions myself. 570 is a nice guy. He loves anything that's even remotely mechanical and hates anything and everything that's even remotely medical. He hates the site of blood which is really weird in our formerly forced upon profession, though he learned pretty quickly how to fake it until he could get to somewhere close to private to puke. 691 is our field med. She's got a daredevil streak in her, even more so than a normal X-series. She's normally quiet, but once in awhile she seems to get the urge to do something incredibly stupid that'll give me a freaking heart attack. I really don't know what 607 was like either because he was barely three years old when he died, though he did love it when 773 would mimic the trainers to us. 392 loves nothing more than to try to get a rise out of the guys, especially 773 and 144. 956 was a total motormouth. He was a great kid, but it was hard to get him to be quiet when we weren't doing drills. 887 is best friends with 570. He loves explosives, but isn't quite as good as the rest of us at disarming or setting them, though he's still better than a regular soldier, and he hates martial arts but he's one of the best in the unit at it and it sometimes frustrates him that he's good in something he hates and he's not as good in what he really likes. 029 is as feisty as you are, Max. She actually reminds me a little of you, now that I think about it. 662 loved to laugh. I think that was why she was one of 773's best friends. And finally Xavier. He's our computer specialist. Xavier got hooked on the X-Men comics when he picked one up when he was on a mission about a year ago. That's where he got his name from."

"Sounds like quite a family," Max said.

"They are," Becky said. "They drive me nuts sometimes, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Do you have any other friends?" Original Cindy asked. "Other than your sibs?"

"Sure," Becky said. "Twice, when I was on missions, I worked with one of Seattle's X6 units, Unit 4. I got along great with them."

"Why would you work with another unit from a different facility?" Max wondered.

"Seattle was the closest facility for me to report to on those missions," Becky said.

"Ever make any other friends, like when you were on missions and stuff?" Original Cindy wondered.

"Yeah, once," Becky said. "My first long-term away mission when I was sixteen, almost two years ago. One of the men that was part of the committee that kept an eye on Manticore was playing some hardball with some of the other members. I think he was thinking about splitting off and possibly starting his own project to rival Manticore. This guy was the commandant of a military school about sixty or so miles east of the Seattle facility. Me and one of the X6s from Seattle were being sent into the school to pose as students. The X5s were a little too old by that time for the mission and I was one of the few X6s that were ready to go long term, and the only one from Gilette who was ready. 252 from Unit 4 and I posed as stepsisters from a military family. My 'father' and her 'mother' got transferred and this was the closest military school to their base. We had to live in their barracks and everything. It was awesome, being able to be normal for awhile when we weren't getting the data we needed. We laughed, we played jokes on other students, we even snuck out with our friends a few times." She laughed. "I swear, if 252 and I hadn't been taught how to get out of sticky situations since we could sit up, we all would have gotten caught and in so much trouble! We both had a lot of friends there and when the mission ended six months after it started, we were both sorry to leave."

"I'm glad you got to experience the outside while you were still at Manticore," Max said.

Becky nodded. "It made me want to get out more, but I think I knew I'd get out for good someday and my experiences on missions were just sneak previews of the real deal."

"Well, I don't know about you two," Original Cindy said. "But I think this apartment needs to be properly broken in."

"I don't have a boyfriend to have sex with right now," Becky said, amused.

"Not that kind of properly broken in," Original Cindy said. "What is it with teenagers and sex? I meant a party. Friends, food, liquor..."

"Hey, Becky isn't even eighteen yet, much less twenty-one," Max teased.

"I'm a big girl," Becky said, grinning.

"Well, if we're gonna have an apartment warming party, we better get movin,'" Original Cindy said. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number and started talking.

"Yep," Becky said. "No time to waste."

"None indeed," Max agreed.

TBC


	22. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Zack pulled into the gas station and stopped at a pump and started to fill his motorcycle. He looked around and sighed and rubbed his eyes.

_I hate sitting down in one place for too long, even if I am riding on a motorcycle up the highway. Even when I stay in a town for more than a day, I've got to be doing something._ He looked over at the pump and removed it from his bike. _Krit or Zane or Max would tell me to switch to decaf if I told them that. Like Krit has room to talk, he's the one who's actually hyper at times. Just what the world needs, a hyper X5._

He went inside the convenience store to pay. "Five gallons of regular for my bike."

"Twenty dollars, please," the cashier said cheerfully.

"Here you go," Zack said, handing the girl a twenty dollar bill. He went back outside, got back on the bike, and rode to a nearby diner for some lunch. He chained the bike up to a lamppost and went inside and sat at the counter. "Just a cheeseburger and a coke, please."

"Coming right up," the waiter said.

"Thanks," Zack said. He turned around on his stool and saw a young couple sitting at a booth. The young woman was giggling as her boyfriend whispered something in her ear. The boyfriend grinned and kissed her, neither of them aware or caring about any of the people watching them. Zack turned away at stared at his place setting. _That should be me and Max. It will be one day, it's gotta be._

"Here's your burger and soda," the waiter said, setting Zack's lunch in front of him.

"Thanks again," Zack said. He picked up his cheeseburger and ate and thought about the conversation he'd had over the phone with Becky a few days ago.

* * *

_"I'm glad that everything's okay on your end. Thanks again for giving Xavier my cell number, I really appreciate it."_

_"It's no problem. I know you'd do the same for me."_

_"That's right."_

_"How's life in Seattle? New apartment working out?"_

_"Yeah, Max is fine and no, Logan hasn't done anything fancy."_

_"What?"_

_"Come on, Zack. We both know that subtlety when it comes to Max isn't your strong point. Don't bother dancing around the subject."_

_"Okay, I won't. Are you sure Cale hasn't made any kind of major move with her?"_

_"Pretty damn sure. It's not like I've got my eye on him twenty-four-seven, but I still drop by his place with Max on occasion and Max and I do talk a lot. He still wants to get things moving more quickly in their relationship but Max still wants to take things fairly slow. Besides, as much as you and probably I would like to think so, Logan's not totally stupid. He knows that if he tried to put any kinds of moves on Max, first Max would kick his ass, then I'd kick his ass, and then you would kick his ass."_

_"Saving the best for last."_

_"Yeah, that's it. Don't worry. You've still got time to make your move when you're ready. Besides, I'm not sure that Max really wants to take things further with Logan."_

_"Oh?"_

_"Yeah. I think she knows subconsciously that she's really in love with you and not Logan. It's a lot of little things that let me know, like how she always keeps just a little bit of distance between them, even when they're right next to each other or holding hands, she doesn't like to kiss Logan for more than a moment or two..."_

_"Becky..."_

_"Or grope him in one spot for more than a minute..."_

_"Becky, quit it."_

_"Just kidding about that last one. I couldn't resist. You know what I mean, though. Plus, she gets this look in her eyes whenever your name is mentioned. She's sure as hell not aware of it, but I am and I'm pretty sure her friend Original Cindy is, too."_

_"That girl's one of the most perceptive people I've ever met."_

_"I know. She's one of the best friends I've ever had, but back to the subject. Sooner or later and hopefully for both of your sakes sooner, Max is going to realize how she actually feels about you. Just promise me that when you visit her, you guys won't make out when I'm in visual range."_

_"You're almost as bad as Zane sometimes."_

_"Gee, thanks. Is that a complement?"_

_"Yeah, it is. I should get going. Take care of yourself?"_

_"I will. You take care of yourself, okay?"_

_"I will."_

* * *

Zack shook his head and took a sip of his soda and smiled slightly. _Good ol' Becky._ He reached for his burger again when his cell phone rang. He looked at the number and answered the call. "Yes." His smile disappeared in less than an eyeblink and his voice became deadly serious. "When? How many others and who are they? Damn, they are. Two-and-a-half hours out, tops. I'll be there. Call her." He disconnected, threw some money onto the counter, and was back on his motorcycle, heading north to Seattle.

TBC


	23. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I love having a day off," Max said to Original Cindy as they sat in a coffee shop having an early lunch. "Not having to listen to Normal breathing down our necks is one of life's great pleasures."

"I hear that," Original Cindy said. "Where's Becky?"

"If she's up by now, she's probably working on getting that pirated satellite setup working," Max said.

"If she's up by now? You mean she actually needs sleep?" Original Cindy said. "All I know is that when she was crashing with us, I'd wake up at seven-thirty in the morning and there'd the two of you be in the kitchen, drinking coffee and talkin' like it was the middle of the day already."

"Becky needs sleep, but not nearly as much as you do," Max said. "She told me that she usually sleeps every night, but only for about two hours a night. Though last night she didn't get to sleep and finally got into bed around seven this morning, so she'll probably sleep longer than that. It's eleven-thirty now, so she should be up."

"She doesn't seem the type to be partying until morning," Original Cindy said.

"She's not," Max said. "I think she was just feeling a little restless last night and went riding around on her bike. She probably just wanted to clear her head."

"The girl's got some issues," Original Cindy.

"Name one person from Manticore who doesn't," Max remarked. Her beeper went off. She looked at the number. "It's Logan. Do you mind?"

"No, go ahead," Original Cindy said.

"Thanks," Max said. She took out her cell phone and dialed Logan's number. "What's going on?"

"I've picked up some hoverdrone footage from sector 2, near the industrial park area," Logan said. "White's set up camp in the abandoned warehouse the next block over. The footage I pulled showed White pulling up with some captured transgenics."

"How many?" Max asked.

"Five. I'm guessing it's two X5s and three X6s," Logan said.

"I'm on my way," Max said. "I've gotta go."

"I'll take care of lunch today," Original Cindy said.

"Thanks," Max said. "I'll pay you back later." She raced out of the coffee shop and headed right to Logan's.

"Max," Logan said when Max walked into the penthouse. "Glad you're here."

"Show me the footage," Max said.

Logan nodded and began typing. "I was looking over hovercam footage for evidence for a tip that I received from one of my informants about some policemen who were dealing drugs when I found this." He pointed to a window that popped open on his monitor and watched with Max as White and several other agents escorted a young man and young woman about Max's age and two teenage girls and a teenage boy, all of whom looked drugged and out of it, into the warehouse handcuffed and at gunpoint.

"Can you zoom in and try to pick up barcode numbers?" Max asked. "Those older transgenics look familiar, but I can't place them right now."

"I can try," Logan said. He typed in some commands on the keyboard. "Zoom in...clean up the resolution...there we go." He played the video from the beginning, this time zooming in on the older transgenics' barcodes.

Max paled. "Oh my God."

"What?" Logan asked, concerned.

"It's Zane and Jondy," Max said. She paused. "Logan, can you try to pick up the barcodes on the X6s?"

"You want to see if they're part of Becky's family?" Logan guessed. Max nodded and Logan went back to work. "Here we go. 392, 773, 691."

"Those are three of Becky's siblings, all right," Max said.

"Is White setting up a trap?" Logan wondered. "Does he know Becky's in Seattle?"

"If it is a trap, it's not for Becky," Max said, shaking her head. "When she and I bailed Alec and those kids out from White last month, the only one that White saw was me."

"When he told you about those files he'd found about you," Logan said. "So he's setting up a trap for you."

"Damn, Logan, do you always have to be so pessimistic?" Max snapped.

"So what?" Logan said. "This is dangerous."

"Duh," Max said. "But I have to get Zane and Jondy and Becky's sibs out of there. Even if this is a trap and we have no way of proving if it is one or not yet, there's no way I'm not going to try to get them away from White."

"Max..." Logan said. "Going in to rescue them by yourself is near suicide."

"I know," Max said. "That's why I won't be going to rescue them alone." She whipped her cell phone out and dialed Zack's contact number. "Zack, it's me. Logan picked up some hoverdrone footage of White with some captured X-series, including Zane and Jondy. He got the footage a few minutes ago, but I don't know exactly when White got them. Three other X-series, all X6s. Becky's siblings 392, 773, and 691. How far away from Seattle are you? I will." She disconnected and turned back to Logan. "I've got to call Becky. Try to see if you can get any audio on that." She dialed Becky's number and waited for her to pick it up.

* * *

"Stupid connection...almost...there we go," Becky said triumphantly. She put her tool down and turned on her TV. "Phew, it works." She got up and went into the kitchen to get a snack when her cell phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Becky, it's me," Max said. "We've got a problem."

"What is it?" Becky said, immediately all business.

"Logan picked up hoverdrone footage," Max said. "White grabbed five of us, two X5s and three X6s. I IDed the X5s and my brother Zane and my sister Jondy." She hesitated a little. "We saw the barcodes on the X6s, too. It's 392, 691, and 773."

"I'm on my way," Becky said. She disconnected, grabbed her jacket, and was out the door.

TBC


	24. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Update," Zack said the second he walked through Logan's front door about two hours later.

"Not much has changed right now from our perspective," Max said. "White has pretty much stayed where he is. The only people going in and out of the warehouse since they brought Zane, Jondy, and Becky's sisters and brother in are just agents that went on a food run. Becky went out about an hour-and-a-half ago to do some recon and to pick some things up from her apartment that we might need. She should be back soon."

"Good," Zack said. He walked over to where Logan was again sitting at the computer. "Is that the footage?"

"Yeah," Logan said. He clicked on a button and replayed it for Zack.

"How far is that warehouse from here?" Zack asked.

"Not too far," Logan said. "It's in sector 2, right next to a mostly abandoned industrial park."

The door slammed. Logan jumped a little, but Max and Zack barely reacted. "Cale, you were actually right," Becky said. "White is setting up a trap for Max. He wants to turn her into a lab rat. The good part is that means he won't be going for the kill on Max. Get blueprints for the warehouse and print them out so we can plan this thing."

"Yes, ma'am," Logan muttered, unaware of the death looks that both Zack and Becky gave him at that moment. He typed in silence for a few moments. "Got them. Printing them out now."

"Good," Becky said. She grabbed the paper and she and Max and Zack looked it over intently.

"It looks like a fairly simple layout," Max said. "One big room with a loft-type situation where the offices are located. I'm willing to bet that Zane and Jondy and the others aren't being held in the offices."

Becky nodded. "White's posted a few men over here." She pointed to where the front door was marked on the printout. "There's an office over here on the west side of the building. It's got a window that you can use to get into the building and a drainpipe along that wall on the outside that you can use to climb to get to the window. That's where White wants you to enter. He's probably figuring that you'd just go rushing in to save your brother and sister."

"And then he'd have his men in the main area of the warehouse ready to catch me," Max concluded.

"Right," Becky said. "There are two offices along the back, or south, side of the building, plus one office along the east side of the building. White's only left one agent in each of those offices. Naturally, he's got most of his men in the main area of the warehouse, near our respective siblings."

"How many men do they have total?" Zack asked.

"I'm not sure of an exact total, but it's a lot," Becky said. "We're looking at a minimum of ten agents not counting White himself, though from what I was able to hear, I think there's at least fifteen or sixteen agents total, possibly as many as twenty. From what I was able to tell, they're all armed. This isn't going to be easy."

Max nodded. "What about Zane and Jondy and 392, 691, and 773? Do you know how they're doing?"

Becky nodded, her expression softening a little. "They're fine. White hasn't done anything to them yet, other than smacking 773 across the mouth and splitting his lip when 773 made a smart remark." She sighed. "He's got them sitting next to each other, shackled to their chairs. It kind of looks like a whole row of electric chairs, except without the electricity. I've seen that setup before three years ago when me, Kyle, 367, and 144 went with some X5s on a mission to ambush a guerrilla terrorist group down in the Philippines. Those sadistic jerks actually had the electricity hooked up to their chair setup. That particular apparatus is popular in other countries that have both a very high crime rate and very overcrowded death rows. I triple-checked to see if there was any way that White could have hooked up juice to the chairs, but luckily, he doesn't have the power available for that."

"There's a mechanism or a button to release she shackles?" Zack guessed.

"I think so," Becky said. "I couldn't see it from where I was, but I'd assume that there is. There was one on that mission I went on."

"Looks like the best way to do this is pretty simple," Zack said. "Max goes in first the way White's going to expect her to go. Becky, you and I will enter through the office windows on the south side of the building and take out the agents in those offices."

"...and while Max is distracting White and everyone else, we jump over the railing and take them by surprise," Becky concluded. "I think the easiest way of getting out of the warehouse will just be going through the front door. They'll be so many agents there that if we try going out the way we came in, it's only gonna give them more time and make us clearer targets for them to shoot at."

"That's insane," Logan interrupted. "There's no way the three of you will be able to get out of there."

Zack and Becky glared at him. Even Max looked pissed. "Going out, we'll be four X5s and four X6s," Becky said coolly. "Based on my personal experience, that should give us at absolute worst a fighting chance in that space. Why don't you just let the professionals do their job and you do yours, okay?"

"What did you bring in the bag, Becky?" Max said quickly. As annoyed as she was at Logan at that moment, she didn't want to see either Zack or Becky start a fight with him.

"Plenty of toys," Becky said. She walked over to where she had left the trash bag she had brought with her from her apartment and dumped its contents onto Logan's coffee table. "My personal guns, of course, plus a gun each for Jondy, Zane, 773, 392, and 691 for when we spring them loose. This is probably a dumb question, but I got a gun for you too, Max, if you want it."

"You already know the answer to that question," Max said.

Becky nodded. "I know, but I had to ask anyway."

"I'll take the extra," Zack said.

"Good," Becky said. "I've got holsters so we can carry not only our own guns but the ones for the others as well. Max, would you at least arm yourself with something so that Zack doesn't go completely nuts?" She ignored the look Zack gave her.

"I've got my new switchblade on me," Max said. "But if it makes you guys feel any better, I'll take a knife if you've got one."

"Here you go," Becky said, handing her the sheathed blade.

Max took it out and looked at it. "Nice."

"Thanks," Becky said. She pointed to a few small cases. "Got some grenades and putty if we need it." She shook her head. "I wish 144 was with us. He's an artist with anything explosive. I'm pretty good with it myself, but he's phenomenal with it."

"Zane is our explosives man," Max said. "If we need to use them, he'll be the one to do it."

"Good," Becky said.

"I picked up a van on my way into Seattle," Zack said. "Logan, can you drive a regular van with your exoskeleton? We're going to need a driver."

Logan nodded. "Yes."

"Excellent," Zack said. "Let's get set. We'll move out in an hour. White's going to be getting a rude surprise."

TBC


	25. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Everybody set?" Zack asked as Logan parked the van a few blocks away from the warehouse.

"Yes," Becky said, zipping up her black denim jacket. She checked the straps on the holster that she'd put on around her waist, as well as the holsters that she'd strapped to her thighs and upper arms. "Good thing this jacket's tight. Makes putting the ones on my arms on easier."

"All set," Max said.

"Good," Zack said.

"Logan, be ready to hit it when we get back," Max said.

"I will," Logan said.

"Good," Zack said. "Let's move out."

* * *

Max silently climbed up the drainpipe on the west side of the building. She reached over to check if the window was unlocked. It was, so she slid it open and swung herself onto the windowsill and into the empty office. She crept up to the door and opened it a crack and looked down past the catwalk to where the captured transgenics were. She waited a few minutes until she was sure that Zack and Becky were in position before she took a deep breath and opened the door all the way and stepped out onto the catwalk.

* * *

Becky waited until Max had slipped into her office before she looked over at Zack and nodded to him. He gave a nod back and they both started to climb, Becky up the drainpipe that Max had just climbed up and Zack up a drainpipe on the east side of the building. Becky quietly reached over and lifted up the window of her office. The agent inside immediately went over to the window to check it out, but Becky quickly poked him in the eyes, temporarily blinding him, and grabbed him around the neck, cutting off the blood to his head and rendering him unconscious. She looked over at Zack to make sure he had done the same before she shoved the agent back into the office and slipped inside. She grabbed the roll of duct tape she'd brought with her and quickly bound and gagged the agent so he wouldn't go anywhere once he'd regained consciousness and opened the door to the office a crack and waited patiently for Max's signal.

* * *

Jondy sat in her chair, carefully watching the agents and looking for any opportunity to get loose, though she knew that logically, she couldn't.

"This is some mess we're in," she said. "I think it's safe to say that we're screwed."

"Looks that way," Zane said. "As soon as that bastard gets Maxie here, we're toast."

"Lucky us," 392 said quietly.

"I'm sorry, 392," Zane said.

"Call me Suzanne," she said.

"Suzanne," he repeated. "How about you guys?"

"Maggie," 691 said.

"Kevin," 773 said.

"I'm Zane, and she's Jondy," Zane said.

"Are we gonna get out?" Kevin asked.

Jondy sighed. "I hope so. If Zack somehow found out about this, then I'd say yes."

"If 405 found out about this, then I'd say yes," Maggie said.

"405?" Jondy questioned.

"Our commanding officer," Maggie said. "She wouldn't let anything happen to us if she could help it."

"Zack's the same way," Zane said.

"You know...um...I'm sorry I let them make me think that you were the bad guys," Kevin said. Maggie and Suzanne nodded in agreement.

"It's okay," Jondy said, knowing what Kevin meant. "You were kids, too. Kids believe what grownups tell them."

"I'd say we're definitely on the same side now," Suzanne said. A noise above them got their attention. "What's going on?"

"I don't—oh, boy," Zane said. The five of them zoomed in towards the now open door of the office on the west side of the warehouse. "Max went for it."

"452," White said almost pleasantly as he walked up behind the captured transgenics. "Why don't you come down here and join the party?"

Max pretended to flinch at getting caught, then grabbed the railing and swung herself over and jumped down. "I do hate missing a good party."

"I even invited some old friends of yours," White said. "Wasn't that nice of me?"

"Your generosity makes me all warm and fuzzy inside," Max said sweetly. "Do you mind if I take them home early?"

"Sorry, 452, nobody leaves until the party is over," White said.

"I can, I will, and I'll be taking my friends with me," Max said.

"No can do," White said. "Your friends, as I'm sure you can see, are secured to their chairs and aren't going anywhere, plus I have more than enough men to take you down if you tried to leave, with or without them."

Max laughed. "Not a bad trap, White, I've got to give the devil his due."

"Thank you," White said, smirking.

"Just one problem with it," Max said, smiling. Zane and Jondy looked at each other, feeling their hopes rise. They knew that look very well.

"And what would that be?" White asked.

"I didn't come alone," Max said.

Right on cue, Zack and Becky leapt out of their offices, jumped over the railing, and began firing. Max ran over to the controls for the shackles that were holding the others and slammed the button. Immediately, they jumped up from their seats and joined Max, Zack, and Becky in the fight.

"Get them!" White ordered. "None of them leave here alive except for 452."

"Oh yeah?" Becky said, tossing the others guns and then drawing her own and firing.

"Let's get out of here," Zack yelled, waving to the front door.

"Everybody between here and the door gets wiped out," Becky yelled.

"Wouldn't that include you freaks?" White said to himself as he hid behind a crate and fired at the transgenics. He heard a scream and smiled to himself.

"No, Suzanne!" Becky yelled, seeing her sister go down. She quickly put her guns back in her holsters and picked Suzanne up. "Let's get the hell out of here!" They raced for the door with Zack and Jondy still exchanging fire with the agents.

"They're following us!" Jondy yelled.

"We'll split up," Zack said. "Max, Zane, Becky, go into the industrial park. We'll meet you at the rendezvous point."

"Got it," Max said. Becky carefully handed Suzanne to Zack and followed Max and Zane, with most of the surviving agents on their tails.

"How the hell are we gonna lose these guys?" Zane yelled.

"We've got to go rooftop to rooftop," Max said. "They're gonna have a hard time following us that way." She jumped up onto the fire escape of one building and started going up with Zane and Becky right behind her, both of them shooting back at the agents following them. The three of them jumped onto the roof and started running, easily leaping onto the next rooftop.

"It's working," Becky said as they ran. "They've fallen behind. Two of them tried to make the jump onto the second roof and they missed. The rest gave up after the third."

"Is White with them?" Max asked.

Becky shook her head. "No. The bastard would have had a bullet between his eyes if he was with them."

"Let's get back with the others," Zane said. "Max, where's the rendezvous point?"

"Follow me," Max said. They jumped off the roof and raced over to the street corner that Zack, Jondy, Maggie, Suzanne, and Kevin had just gotten to. "We lost them"

"Only three agents followed us," Jondy said. "I took out two of them and Kevin got the third."

"Let's get to the van," Zack said. He handed Suzanne back to Becky and they ran for where Logan was waiting for them in the van. Zack flung open the door and they piled in. "Move it, Cale, one of the X6s is injured."

"How does she look, Maggie?" Becky asked as she lay Suzanne down on the floor of the van.

"Not good," Maggie said, barely managing to keep the worry out of her voice. "She's lost a lot of blood." She reached for the first aid kit and opened it and removed a pair of tweezers and some tubing. She handed the tubing to Becky and Kevin. "One of you hand me a lighter so I can sterilize the tweezers so I can try to remove the bullet. Kevin and 405—"

"Becky," Becky interrupted.

"Kevin and Becky, get ready for a transfusion," Maggie finished. She grabbed the lighter that Zack tossed to her and began to sterilize the tweezers.

"No," Suzanne said weakly. "Too—too late."

"No, it's not too late," Becky said. She grabbed one of Suzanne's hands as Max leaned over to insert the tubing into Becky's other arm. "Suzanne, you're gonna be just fine. Maggie's gonna get the bullet out and Kevin and I are gonna give you some fresh blood and you're gonna be just fine. Stay with us, Suzanne."

"I want to—" Suzanne said.

"Then do," Becky said. "Maggie?"

Maggie leaned over and checked Suzanne's pulse. "Her pulse is getting weaker."

"Suzanne, stay with us. You can do it," Becky said again.

"I'm sorry," Suzanne. "I'll—I'll miss you guys."

"You won't miss us because you're not going anywhere," Becky said, fighting to keep the emotion out of her voice. She tightened her grip on Suzanne's hand as she felt Suzanne's grip weaken. "Suzanne, stay with us. Damnit, Suzanne, that's an order! Stay with us!" Becky felt her heart jump into her throat when Suzanne's grip went completely limp and her hand fell from Becky's. "Suzanne!"

Maggie immediately went to work, giving Suzanne CPR. Everybody in the van was silent for a few minutes as Maggie tried to revive her sister. Maggie felt for a pulse and shook her head. "She—she's gone." She burst into tears.

"Suzanne..." Kevin whimpered.

Becky closed her eyes and bit her lip and put and arm around both of her crying siblings. _I lost another one. I lost another one._ She tightened her grip around Maggie's shoulders when she heard Maggie sob loudly. _I have to be strong for them. I can't let them see how much this is hurting. I have to be strong. I have to be strong. Damnit, I should have been paying more attention! I should have known that at least one of the agents would be firing from behind cover!_ She took a few deep breaths before looking up. She saw both Max and Jondy crying a little and even Zane had tears running down his face, but when she looked into Zack's eyes she saw the same look of grief, frustration, and rage that she knew that she had in hers. Becky took a deep breath in an effort to compose herself at least somewhat.

"Come on," she said, her voice sounding almost surprisingly level. "Let's find someplace to cremate her body. It's the least we can do for her. Do you know anyplace that would work, Max?"

Max wiped her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, there's a beach about a mile from where we are right now. Logan?"

"Heading that way," he said.

"Thank you," Becky said.

* * *

"How are Kevin and Maggie?" Max asked several hours later.

"They're sleeping," Logan said. "Maggie's in the guest room and Kevin's in my room. I'll just sleep on the couch tonight."

"Where did Becky go?" Zack asked, looking around.

Jondy shrugged. "I don't know. She helped us make sure that Kevin and Maggie got settled in for the night and then she left. I guess she went for a walk or something to clear her head."

"I can't blame her," Zane said quietly.

"I think I know where she went," Max said. "Zack?"

Zack nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Becky sat on the top of the Space Needle, her eyes closed, lost in memories that wouldn't leave her be.

--------------------


	26. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I don't know if I really feel like going to Crash tonight," Becky said.

"You need to cheer up," Original Cindy. "It's been two weeks since your sister died. Besides, you're gonna be going away for at least a week yourself tomorrow. Come with us tonight."

"You have a point," Becky admitted.

"It'll be fun," Max said. "It's not like you haven't been to Crash before."

"I know," Becky said. She sighed. "Fine, I'll go with you guys."

"Good," Max said. She grabbed Becky's hand and dragged her out of her apartment. "No time like the present."

"Okay, okay," Becky said, laughing.

The three of them walked over to the bar and went in. Max and Becky sat down at a table while Original Cindy went over to the bar to get them drinks. "When are you leaving?" Max asked.

"About seven or so," Becky said. "I'm meeting up with Zack in Tacoma and then we're gonna head over to Reno to check up on Kyle and then we're going to see Jondy in Flagstaff since it's on our way to Phoenix, which is where Xavier is right now. Plus I know that Zack's anxious to check up on her because of the scare that we had recently and he's already checked in on Zane."

"I can imagine," Max said.

Becky looked at Max suspiciously. _Was that jealousy? Wait 'till I tell Zack this!_ "Yeah."

"Here we go," Original Cindy said, setting a pitcher of beer and three empty glasses down on the table. She sat down and poured herself a glass. "Enjoy."

"I will," Max said. She poured herself a glass.

"Thanks," Becky said. She poured herself a glass and made a face. "Now I remember why my age isn't the only reason why I rarely drink."

"You have enough of these and you won't give a damn how it tastes," Original Cindy said. She pointed towards the door, where Sketchy had just entered. "Take that fool, for instance. You've seen him in action before."

"Oh yeah," Becky said, snickering. "Watching Sketchy when he's drunk is an unforgettable experience."

Max narrowed her eyes as she looked at the two guys that entered the bar with Sketchy. "Is that—it is that moron Alec. What's he doing here?"

"Beats me," Becky said. She looked over at them and blinked in surprise when she recognized the other guy with them. "Holy crap, that's 941."

"941?" Max repeated. "Who's he?"

"He was the C.O. of the unit that I worked with when I was based out of Seattle for those two missions," Becky said. "I didn't know he was in the city."

"Why don't you introduce us?" Max suggested. "I'd like to meet him and find out why Alec's back in town."

"I will," Becky said. The three of them got up from their table and walked over to where Sketchy, Alec, and 941 were standing at the bar, talking and drinking. "Look who's here."

"Hey, you guys," Sketchy said. "Girls, I want you to meet Alec and Jeff. Alec, Jeff, these are those friends of mine that I was telling you about: Max, Original Cindy, and Becky."

"Been a long time, n—Jeff," Becky said, grinning.

"At least a few months," Jeff said.. "Good to see you again."

"Alec," Max said sweetly. "It's been a while, too. I didn't know you were back in town."

"Yeah, I got back last week," Alec said. "I actually like this city."

"I met these guys yesterday when I was out on one of my runs," Sketchy said. "Alec here says he's gonna come work with us at Jam Pony."

"You don't say," Becky said. "How about you, Jeff? What are you up to these days?"

"I work over at that Italian place a couple of blocks down," Jeff said. "I'm the assistant manager."

"Not bad," Becky said.

"It'd be more impressive if they actually paid me something decent," Jeff said.

"Good luck getting a decent paying job in this city," Max said. "Not happening, never will happen."

"So, Jeff, run into any of our fellow high school grads?" Becky asked casually.

"A few," Jeff said. He knew perfectly well what Becky meant. "I saw some of my buddies from the football team a few weeks ago. I also saw my old student body V.P., Riley. You remember her, right?"

"She had red hair, right?" Becky said, recalling 252. Jeff nodded. "Yeah, I think I met her at that football game junior year. I damn near got into a fight with her."

"That sounds like Riley," Jeff said. He grinned.

"Did you guys go to the same high school?" Sketchy asked.

"No, but our schools played each other a lot in football games and stuff like that," Jeff said.

"Oh," Sketchy said.

"Up for a game of pool, Becky?" Jeff asked.

"Sure," Becky said. She followed Jeff over to an empty pool table. She picked up a cue and began to chalk it up. "It's good to see you again. I was wondering if you made it out."

"I was wondering the same thing," Jeff said. He racked the balls up. "You want the first shot?"

"Yeah, thanks," Becky said. "Did all of your unit make it out?"

"No," Jeff said. He looked down for a moment. "We lost one to the punks." He pointed to the seven ball, the six ball, and then the one ball.

Becky nodded, understanding how Jeff was feeling. "We all made it out, but my sister Suzanne was killed two weeks ago." She pointed to the three ball, the nine ball, and the two ball before she walked over to the end of the table, lined up her shot, and took it. "Got stripes."

"How?" Jeff asked.

"I was helping to get her and some others out of a sticky situation and it went sideways," Becky said.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said.

"I know," Becky said. "I'm gonna be leaving tomorrow to go on a road trip to check up on two of my brothers."

"When are you going to be back?" Jeff asked.

"Not for at least a week," Becky said. "Why?"

Jeff shrugged, but there was a look in his eye that Becky missed. Max, who was watching them from her table, didn't miss it. "I just thought you'd might want to hang out sometime when you get back."

"That'd be great," Becky said. "I'd like that."

They continued their game, with Becky finally winning. Afterwards, they went back to where Alec and Sketchy had joined Max and Original Cindy at the girls' table. "Did we miss anything?"

"No, not yet," Max said. "You obviously haven't known Sketchy here that long. The fun really starts when he gets drunk."

"I see," Jeff said. He looked at his watch. "Damn. I've got to work the early shift tomorrow. I'll see you all around. Have fun on your trip, Becky."

"Thanks, I will," Becky said. Jeff waved to them and left. "That was nice seeing him again."

"Alec, you wanna play some pool?" Sketchy asked.

"Of course," Alec said. He and Sketchy walked off to the pool tables and Max turned to Becky, a grin on her face.

"He likes you," she said gleefully.

"Who, Jeff?" Becky said. "No way. He's a friend of mine."

"Girl, he was looking at you like you were somethin' special," Original Cindy said.

Becky shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"You like him too," Max said.

"What!" Becky said, shocked. "I do not like Jeff that way! He's a nice guy and yeah, he's really hot, but everybody that—went to that school was really hot, and we've always gotten along, but I do not like him in that way and he does not like me in that way. End of story."

"Sure," Max said. She was obviously not convinced. "Just keep telling yourself that."

"I'm right," Becky said. "I gotta go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." She got up and left the table.

"You called that one," Original Cindy remarked.

"She's so stubborn, it'll take her awhile," Max said. "But when she does..." She grinned.

TBC


	27. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Long ride," Becky said as she and Zack walked into their room at a motel just past the Nevada state line. She dropped her bag by the door, took off her riding gloves, tossed them onto a dresser, and flopped down on one of the beds.

"It's only eleven and you're already ready to go to sleep?" Zack asked.

"We spent all day on the road," Becky said. "Plus I do need some sleep. It's not like I'm like Max and I just get an hour or two once a week, if that."

"...and it's been a long last couple of weeks," Zack finished.

"That too," Becky agreed. "I'm just going to go in the bathroom and get ready for bed. I'll be out in a few minutes." She stood up, grabbed her bag, and went into the bathroom and shut the door. Zack put his own bag down and sat down on his own bed while waiting for Becky to finish in the bathroom. When she did, he picked up his bag and he went in the bathroom. When he was done, he opened the door and saw Becky lying silently on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked quietly. He sat down on his bed and faced her.

"I don't know," Becky replied. "I'm not sure." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Suzanne's death is still bugging me. I should be trying to be getting over it. I've gotten over losing 213, 607, 956, and 662. Okay, let's be honest. I'm not sure I'm over them at all. Well, maybe 213 because I don't remember him even the slightest bit."

Zack looked confused. "You don't remember him?"

"I don't," Becky repeated. "He was five months old and I was seven months old when he died. I know we have great memories and we remember stuff earlier than normal humans, but that's stretching it even for us. I still wish I remembered him and that he'd lived longer so I could have gotten to know him."

"How did he die?" Zack asked.

"Seizures," Becky said. "Lydecker told me that he'd had the same seizures that you guys do or did except that he'd had them worse."

"Oh," Zack said. "Did you ever have the seizures?"

"Unfortunately," Becky said. "I had one or two small ones that I was able to cover up before you guys left, and then I didn't have any until a few days after my brother 956 died." She shivered. "It was nasty. I got lucky that they were able to stop them that time. I got the permanent fix a few months later, once they were sure that it worked."

"My brother Jack almost died from seizures," Zack said. "He'd gotten lucky a few times. We were able to cover for him if it had happened during the day or if it happened with no guards around at night. But one day..." He had to pause to collect himself.

"I'm sorry," Becky said softly.

"The worst part...Max followed them after they dragged him away," Zack said. "They took him down to one of the operating rooms in the infirmary. She said that his seizures had stopped by the time they got there and that he was still alive and he was actually starting to regain consciousness. But they just put Jack on the operating table and they cut him open like he was a corpse. They just sliced him up and picked his brain apart to try to find out why he was having those seizures. They killed him. They killed him and they didn't care."

"We were just pieces of meat to them. They thought we were expendable lab rats," Becky recalled.

"I made the decision to escape right after Max had told me what they did to Jack. Everybody agreed with me. We decided to wait until the right moment to go, but no later than a week from then," Zack said. "We didn't have to wait that long. Max started having seizures the next day and the guards noticed and...we went for it. Lydecker caught us in the hall as we were getting Max away from the guards who wanted to take her. Jondy and I were supporting Max and Eva was leading us down the hall. She'd gotten one of the guards' guns. Lydecker spotted us and saw Eva with the gun and he just shot her. Right in front of us."

"Just like that bastard White shot Suzanne down right in front of me and Kevin and Maggie," Becky said.

"Exactly," Zack said. He sighed. "You guys were lucky, though. At least you three got a chance to say goodbye to Suzanne. We never got a chance to say goodbye to Eva."

"I'm sorry," Becky said.

"Thank you," Zack said.

"I remember that night," Becky said. "I was in my family's part of the barracks. We were sleeping or trying to sleep and I was sitting up on my cot and just watching the others. I think 367 was up too. She has the same Shark DNA deal that Max and Jondy have. We were talking quietly and all of a sudden we heard sirens go off outside and there were helicopters and we heard snowmobiles and we didn't know what to think. An hour or two later, the commotion died down and we went back to our cots and we or at least I went to sleep. I must have only been asleep for half an hour when our door just flies open and Lydecker himself comes in, quickly explains what just happened, and yanks me out of bed and straight to Psy Ops."

"They threw you in Psy Ops after we escaped?" Zack said, shocked.

Becky nodded. "When I got there, I recognized most of the other soldiers there. They'd taken all the commanding officers of the remaining X5 units and all of the commanding officers of the X6s, myself included, plus the member of your family that decided to stay back. I think they wanted to make sure that we didn't give our units any ideas of escaping like you and your family did."

"Why only the X5 and X6 commanding officers?" Zack asked.

"The X7s were only about a year old at the time," Becky said. "Their minds work differently than other X-series' minds, at any rate. The X3s and X4s were older and I guess they figured they were pretty set in their ways. Either that or they were easier to catch if they tried to escape. But us..." She shook her head. "We waited until they finally dragged us to those chairs and strapped us in and started in on us. The laser, drugs, the whole deal. They showed us picture of you guys and insisted that you were traitors, snakes, rats. It seems like they did everything they could to torture us physically and mentally. They only paused to feed us occasionally or to take us to the infirmary if we needed it and then hauled us right back to Psy Ops the second they said we were anything close to healed. It was horrible. It never worked on me, though. If anything, it only reinforced my belief that they were the real bad guys and what they were doing to us was wrong. If I ever found myself close to believing them, I just made myself remember 607 and how they let him drown when they refused to let him out of the tank early when I'd noticed that he was in trouble. I wasn't sure exactly how long I was in there. Time really does pass by differently when you're there and they decide to go absolutely full blast on you. I still guessed that I was in there for about a month or two. When they let me rejoin my unit, they told me that I'd been in there for six months."

Zack looked horrified. "Six months? They had you in Psy Ops for a half a year?"

"They did," Becky said. "All of the other C.O.s that they threw in Psy Ops were only in there for three months. In fact, the only other X-series that was in Psy Ops for as long as I was in there was your sister, Jace. It kind of made sense why they held her in there, no offense."

"None taken," Zack said.

"Lydecker said to me and to everyone when he'd talk to us after they released me was that the reason I'd been held in Psy Ops for that long was to make an example and to show how serious they were," Becky said. "For some reason, though, I never bought it. I don't know why. It was a perfectly plausible reason for keeping me in. I was one of the best commanding officers in Gillette and probably one of the most promising X-series there in general, or at least that was the impression that I'd been getting from Lydecker and the trainers. But I still didn't buy the 'making an example of 405' excuse. I swear there was another reason that I got the extended stay, but I was never able to find out what it was."

"Maybe they just in a bad mood one day at you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Zack offered. "That seemed to be the reasoning behind a lot of the trainers decisions."

"Like when 662 died," Becky said. "I don't know. The only thing I knew when I got sprung loose from Psy Ops was how badly I wanted to join you and your family on the outside. I knew that the rest of my family didn't want to leave, though, and I knew that they would go through what I had just did if I bailed on them. Maybe worse since they'd already given me the five-star service and thus expected me to know better. I couldn't do that to them. Never. I wouldn't wish a six month stay in Psy Ops on anybody, much less my own family."

Zack looked at Becky. "Get some sleep," he said softly. "You look like you really need it."

"I will," Becky said. She got under the covers and turned her head so she was facing Zack again. "Get some sleep yourself, okay?"

"I will," Zack said.

"Good night," Becky said. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Zack just sat on his bed for a few minutes and watched her sleep. _Six months. Six months in Psy Ops. She shouldn't have had to go through that. She was only six years old! How could they have done that to her?_ He stood up to go to the bathroom, but paused and looked down at Becky again. "Never again, Becky. I swear."

TBC


	28. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Nice place you've got here, Xavier," Becky remarked as she and Zack followed Xavier into the abandoned office building in Phoenix that Xavier had settled into.

"It's either that or foster care," Xavier said. "I'm barely fourteen. Technically, you have to be at least eighteen to get your own place without parental permission, but most cheap or cheaper places will rent to you if you're at least sixteen. I'm not even that and I'm not about to risk being in the foster care system."

"Good idea," Zack said.

"This place isn't bad," Xavier said as he walked around. "There's a ton of different people around. Families, young single people, old drunks, you name it. I blend right in, plus I get the 'code taken care of on a regular basis."

Becky nodded. "As long as you keep on being careful, I don't see any reason you should leave in the immediate future."

"Thanks," Xavier said. "How's Kyle doing?"

"Pretty good," Becky said. "He's got a girlfriend."

"Good for him," Xavier said.

"Good for him? She's a skank. I think he just needed to get laid," Becky said. "Besides, she tried to put the moves on Zack when Kyle went out of the room for a minute."

"Wow," Xavier said. "She does sound skanky."

"Yeah," Becky said. "She was just lucky that Zack's girlfriend wasn't with us." She grinned mentally when she saw Zack glare murderously at her out of the corner of her eye.

"You've got a girlfriend?" Xavier asked.

"No," Zack said. "Contrary to popular opinion."

"It's not official yet," Becky said. "But I've got a feeling it will be soon, if you get my meaning."

Xavier nodded. "Yeah."

"Anyway," Becky said. "I warned her that she shouldn't break Kyle's heart."

"How many bones did you leave unbroken?" Xavier asked.

Becky blinked and tried to look innocent. "Why would you think I'd do something like that, Xavier?"

"Do I have to remind you about the time that you practically made 486 piss in her pants after she pulled that prank on 029 about three years ago?" Xavier said.

"Hey, I didn't hurt her," Becky said. "I just told her what I thought of the prank and how I felt about it landing 029 in solitary for a week. If she got so scared that she required a change of pants, that's her problem. And your memory might be slipping, but 486 pulled that stunt in the first place because she was upset that 029 outscored her on the missions test. You remember that one, right, Xavier? The one we all had to take when we were eleven to clear us for group missions? And no, I didn't physically hurt Kyle's girlfriend. Threatened, yes, injure, no."

"Bet my score is still the highest," Zack said. Xavier gave him a look and Zack shrugged. "I was thirteen when I bailed back in '09. I took the test."

"It is, but I tied it when I took it," Becky told him.

"I remember that test very well, Becky," Xavier said. "My score was in the top ten percentile for that year. I got to shove it back in Suzanne's face after she'd been teasing me that I wouldn't out do her score from a year-and-a-half before." He got quiet. "I wish she was still here."

"Me too," Becky said. She gave Xavier a quick hug. "She'd be happy for you that you're okay."

"I know," Xavier said. "You guys want to go get something to eat? There's a place just down the street that's got pretty good burgers and pizza."

"I'm up for some pizza," Becky said. "Zack? You coming with us?"

"Sure," Zack said. "I don't mind."

"Great," Xavier said. "Follow me." He led them down the block and up to a building that didn't look too much better on the outside than the one he was living in. He walked up to the door and opened it. "In here."

Becky and Zack walked inside and immediately Becky made a face. "Xavier, this is a bar."

"No shit, Sherlock," Xavier said.

"Nice mouth you've picked up since we last saw each other," Becky remarked. "They let you eat here by yourself?"

"Yeah," Xavier said. "As long as I don't have anything with alcohol in it, they don't care. They'll probably serve you."

"I don't drink very often," Becky said. "My age is one reason and I just don't feel like it, anyway."

The three of them sat down at a table and ordered a pizza when the waitress finally came by to take their order. "Place is pretty busy for lunch time," Zack said.

"Like I said, the food is good," Xavier said. "This also isn't the absolute greatest neighborhood. Lots of people like to get their drinking done early so it frees them up for serious mischief later."

"If I didn't know you could take care of yourself..." Becky said.

"Relax," Xavier said.

"It's in my job description to worry. Read it sometime," Becky deadpanned.

"I'll read it while I'm on the throne," Xavier said. He got up and walked towards the men's room.

"I need to go, too," Zack said.

"Behave in there," Becky teased.

"Very funny," Zack said as he followed Xavier. Becky shook her head and watched Zack go into the bathroom before she sighed and looked down at the table, bored out of her mind. Her boredom barely lasted two minutes.

"Hello, cutie," a deep voice said from behind her.

Becky turned around, one hand instinctively going up to her neck even though she knew she'd gotten her barcode taken care of the day before she left Seattle. She saw a drunk man standing in front of her. "Hello, sir. Can I help you?"

"You bet," the man said. He leered at Becky. "You sure are a pretty one. I don't normally go for blonds, but I'll make an exception for you."

"I normally don't go for disgusting drunks and I won't make an exception for you," Becky replied. "Can you please leave me be? I'm with some friends and they'll be back soon."

"Oh, no," the man said. He yanked Becky up out of her seat. "I see you and I want you and I'm gonna have you."

Becky thought quickly. She knew she couldn't show off in a place this public. She looked down for a moment and then looked back up again, smiling to herself. "You're not going to have me."

"Says who?" the drunk said.

"Says me," Becky said. She slammed her knee into the drunk man's groin. "When the swelling goes down, you can go screw yourself, okay?" She smirked and sat back down and watched as the man was helped back to his seat.

"You have been hanging around Max for much too long," Zack said.

"Thanks. How much did you see?" Becky said.

"Everything from the blond remark on," Xavier said. "Why only the knee to the groin?"

"Come on, Xavier," Becky said. "We're in a crowded place. Not the best place to pull off something fancy. And before you have a fit, Zack, I didn't use any superhuman strength there. Well, maybe a little more than someone my size would normally have, but nothing suspicious."

"I still say you've been spending too much time around Max lately," Zack said.

"Jealous?" Becky teased.

"No," Zack said immediately.

"Is this something I should know about?" Xavier asked.

"I'll tell you later," Becky promised. "It's a good story."

"I'll bet it is," Xavier said.

TBC


	29. Chapter 27a

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Have fun on your trip?" Max asked Becky several days later after Becky had gotten back to Seattle.

"Yeah," Becky said. She dropped her bag on her living room floor and threw her jacket on her couch. "It was great seeing Kyle and Xavier again. Kyle has a skanky girlfriend."

"He is a male teenager," Max said. "I think he's thinking with something other than his head."

"My thoughts exactly," Becky said. She went into her kitchen and poured herself some juice before adding casually "She tried to put the moves on Zack when Kyle left the room."

"Oh?" Max said. "She did?"

Becky saw Max's reaction and tried not to laugh. _I knew it. She's got it bad for Zack._ "Tried being the operative word. Zack didn't go for her. I calmly took her aside and explained to her why she shouldn't be thinking about cheating on my younger brother. Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't leave any physical scars."

"Why would I be disappointed?" Max asked.

_Gee, let me take a few minutes to think on that one._ "I don't know. Anyway, we spent about two days with Kyle in Reno before we headed to Arizona to check up on Jondy and Xavier. Jondy really misses you and she told Zack to tell you that. Xavier's doing pretty well. He's holed up in some abandoned building in Phoenix with various other drifters. The first day Zack and I were there, some drunk guy tried to pick me up at the place we had lunch at." She looked over at the calendar on the wall. "The swelling should be down by now and enough of the pain will be gone by tomorrow for him to start think of jerking off again."

"Nice," Max said, snickering.

"Thanks," Becky said. "I couldn't do anything fancy in a public place, so I settled for old number one." She sat down on the couch. "How've things been in Seattle while I've been away? Nothing too exciting?"

"No," Max said. She sat down next to Becky. "Been relatively quiet on the White front. I guess other transgenics have been giving him plenty to handle at the moment. Alec's still a pain-in-the-ass. I dropped by the restaurant that Jeff works at earlier this week."

"How's he doing?" Becky asked.

"Pretty good," Max said. "He asked about you."

"He did?" Becky said. "That was nice of him."

"It was," Max said. "Of course, the guy only has a massive crush on you. I'd say the feeling is mutual. Right, Becky?"

Becky opened her mouth to deny Max again but was saved by the ringing of Max's cell phone. "Saved by the phone, thank goodness."

"Lucky," Max said. She checked the phone number on the caller I.D. and answered it. "What's up, Logan?"

"I've finally cracked the codes on the information about the X-series in the Manticore database," he said.

"Becky's with me. We'll be right over," Max said. She disconnected and turned back to Becky. "Want to head over to Logan's?"

"Sure," Becky said. "I'm curious."

The two of them got up and left Becky's apartment and rode over on their motorcycles to Logan's penthouse. Max opened the door and they walked in to find Logan waiting for them in the computer room. "Did you look through the files yet?" Max asked.

"No," Logan said. "I thought you might want the honors."

"Thanks," Max said.

Logan clicked on the folder marked X-Series and typed in a password to open the folder. "Here it is. There's a folder for each generation created, plus folders labeled 'X10', 'X11', and 'X12,' plus another folder labeled 'Siblings.' I thought you said that the youngest generation was the X9s."

"They are," Becky said. "I'm guessing that X10, X11, and X12 are the children that were conceived during the breeding program. They put the oldest three surviving generations in the program, so that's why there's three new X-series folders."

"What about the siblings file?" Max asked.

"Let's see," Logan said. He opened the file and got a word processor file and three more folders marked 'Identical Twins', 'Clones', and 'Other Siblings'. He opened the word processor file and began to read. "'In every generation, there are several pairs of siblings created for research purposes. Some are clones and some are simply brothers and sisters made from the same two genetic donors. We have also had several instances of identical twins occurring naturally. For the most part, these siblings are kept separated in different units, though there is three sets of siblings per generation kept in the same unit as the other, one set for each facility, again for research purposes. Also see Experiment 56X1B. Siblings are noted by their designations. A non-clone or non-identical twin has a designation that is a numerical combination using the numbers of the designation of the intended older sibling.'"

"Of the intended older sibling?" Becky said, confused.

"You can't always predict when a woman will go into labor," Logan said.

"True," Becky said.

"Experiment 56X1B?" Max said. "What the hell is that?"

"Beats me," Becky said.

"Why don't you just skip ahead to the X5 files," Max said.

"Wanna see if they know all your dirty secrets?" Becky teased.

"Very funny," Max said.

"Coming right up," Logan said. He got back to the X-Series folder, then opened the file labeled 'X5' and opened it. He clicked on the 'Gillette' file and then clicked on the file for Max's family and then on the file marked 'X5-452.' "Here it is."

"Not my best picture," Max quipped as she looked at the information. "'Barcode number, designation, blah, blah, blah..." She looked at the subject line marked 'Siblings' and laughed. "Ha! I knew Krit and I were actually related!" She thought for a bit. "452 isn't any kind of combination of one, five, or seven that I can think of."

"Maybe 157 is of four, five, and two," Becky said. "Oh yeah, it is. Four squared plus five cubed plus two to the fourth power is 157."

"Maybe you have a sibling," Max said.

"Yeah, right," Becky said. "The odds aren't that great. There's only a few per generation, remember?"

"You never know," Max said. "405...someone who has a designation divisible by nine, maybe?"

Becky laughed. "Kevin actually used to call me 'nine' when we were younger because my designation is divisible by nine. Let's see, 405 divided by nine is 45 and 45..." She thought for a moment before her eyes went wide and her face paled. "Logan, pull up either my file or Zack's. Now."

"Sure," Logan said. "Why?"

"Just do it," Becky insisted.

"Are you okay, Becky?" Max asked as Logan got to work.

"I think so," Becky said.

"Here's Zack's file," Logan said. "What are you looking for?"

"Scroll down...there," Becky said. She looked at the monitor for a moment before she backed up. "Oh my God."

"What?" Max said. She took a look at what had gotten Becky rattled and gasped. "Holy crap." She turned her head to look at Becky. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before."

"Zack's my brother," Becky whispered.

TBC


	30. Chapter 27b

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I can't believe it," Becky said. "I can't believe I have a real brother." She mentally shook herself. "Not that Kyle or Xavier or any of my younger brothers or sisters are any less real to me, far from it, they're as real to me now as they ever were, but..."

"It's mind boggling," Max said. She turned to look at where Zack's file was still up on Logan's monitor and at the line that read 'Siblings: X6-405.' She narrowed her eyes as she looked at a note that had been made next to it. "'Also see Experiment 56X1B.' What the hell...?"

"Check my file," Becky suggested. "Maybe that has something else."

"Okay," Logan said. After a few moments, he brought Becky's file up on the screen. "Here it is."

"Birthday: October 31, 2002. Hey, I'm exactly three years younger than you, Max. That's interesting." Becky continued reading. "Barcode number, designation, blond hair, grey eyes, 5'8", whoop-de-doo...'Siblings: X5-599. Also see Experiment 56X1B.' Huh."

"Guess that experiment has some answers that you and I'm sure Zack will want to see," Max said. "Logan?"

"Already on it," Logan said. He got back to the correct folder and opened the file on Experiment 56X1B. "Here it is. Looks like this was written by Lydecker himself."

"Huh," Becky said. She looked over Logan's shoulder and started reading. "'It is well known that leaders should have the same qualities. What if these leaders would have the same qualities naturally by genetics without the use of cloning? After X5-599 was born, he began to show incredible promise. By the time he'd reached two years of age, when the time had come to start designing and planning for the next generation, he'd shown far more potential than any other X-series leader before him and more potential than the other X5s born at that point. It was decided to take more of the samples given to us from X5-599's genetic donors and to use them to create the first of the X6 series. We took the X5-specific code sequencing from X5-599 and applied the upgrades to it as planned and then combined this new X6 code sequencing to the genetic material from X5-599's donors. The resulting X6, whom we chose to be a female, was given a designation reflecting it's status as X5-599's sibling. As planned, this new X6, X6-405, was the first of the entire X6 generation to be born when she arrived on October 31st, 2002, approximately seven years and one month after her older brother.'"

"Wow," Max said.

"I still can't believe I didn't think that you and Zack were related," Logan said, shaking his head. "You two look a lot alike, aside from the eye color." _That and you're a lot nicer than your prick of a brother._

"Thanks," Becky said. She looked at Logan suspiciously. She knew he didn't think too highly of Zack. _And we're a lot alike in other ways, too. Like how neither of us trust you completely._

"There's some more," Max said. "More of Lydecker's notes about the two of you as you grew up. It more or less ends after the escape, but he still deemed the experiment a success."

"It just warms my heart to know I was the result of a special experiment," Becky deadpanned. She shook her head. "It explains why I got the six-month stay is Psy Ops back after you guys left instead of three months like the other C.O.'s they threw in there."

Max looked pale. "They kept you in Psy Ops for six full months when you were a kid? I'm so sorry, Becky. I had no idea."

"It's okay," Becky said. "I don't blame you guys. I never have and I never will." She smiled a little. "It actually explains why there were times when I could have sworn that Lydecker looked like he was a little scared of me, particularly when I was furious with him for some reason or another."

"You must have looked so much like Zack then," Max said. She grinned. "I would have loved to see the look on Lydecker's face those times."

"You would have loved it," Becky said. She sat down. "I've got to tell Zack. I..."

Max had to grin at Becky's nerves. "Hold tight. I'll take care of this."

* * *

Zack was on his way out of Seattle when he heard his cell phone ring. He quickly pulled over to the side of the road so he could answer it. "Yes?"

"It's me," Max said.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" Zack asked.

"Not wrong, but you need to get back to Logan's," Max said. "He cracked the codes for the X-series portion of the database."

"Oh," Zack said. "Why do you need me there?"

"Zack, trust me on this one," Max said.

"Is it something bad?" Zack said.

"No," Max said. "But it's not something that should be told over the phone. Trust me."

"I will," Zack said. "I'll be there in a few minutes." He disconnected and put his phone away and turned his motorcycle around and headed towards Logan's penthouse. As he promised Max, he was there in minutes. Max met him in the living room.

"You're here," she said.

"Yeah," Zack said. "What's going on?"

"We dug up some dirt on us. Did you know that some of us X-series have siblings?" Max said.

"Let me guess: you and Krit?" Zack guessed.

"Yep," Max said. "The two of us are only one pair, though. Ben and Alec are obviously another, though whether they are cloned or just happened naturally, I have no clue yet."

"So?" Zack said.

"They also gave information on how you can tell which X-series are siblings of another. The designation of the intended younger sibling is a numerical combination using the numbers in the designation of the intended older sibling. Krit was actually supposed to be younger than me." She took a deep breath. "Zack, what do you get when you multiply the numbers in your designation?"

"Easy. 405..." Zack's eyes widened. "Oh my..."

"Yeah," Max said. "She's your sister. Lydecker wanted to pull some special experiment to see if somebody could be as good a leader as a regular non-cloned sibling and she's the result."

"Unbelievable," Zack said.

"Believe it," Max said. "I couldn't believe I didn't think of it sooner."

"Where's Becky now?" Zack asked.

"In the computer room with Logan," Max said. "She's about as shocked as you are."

Zack nodded and walked over to the computer room. He stood in the doorway and just looked at Becky. Becky heard him and turned her head and they just looked at each other for a few moments. Finally, Becky got up and they walked towards each other and just hugged each other.

TBC


	31. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Hell of a view tonight," Becky said to Zack as they sat on top of the Space Needle together later that night.

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

"I can't believe it," Becky said. "I...it's blowing my mind but at the same time, it's like I should have seen it sooner."

"I know what you mean," Zack said. "Becky, I'm sorry—"

"It's not your fault I got thrown in Psy Ops for six months," Becky said. "The only thing you did was the right thing by getting your family and yourself out of there. Lydecker was the one who decided that I should get the longer stay in Psy Ops, not you."

Zack nodded. "I know."

"This is so overwhelming," Becky said. "I'm still not sure exactly what to think. Don't get me wrong, Zack, I'm thrilled that we're brother and sister, but I just...I don't know. Should I also file this fact in the 'Things to Be Pissed Off at Lydecker About' file because he kept us apart at Manticore and never told us? Or should I not be pissed at Lydecker because he did order me to be the one to bring you your meals when you turned yourself in earlier this year? Or should I be pissed at him anyway because he probably only did that because he wanted to see how we would react being around each other? How do I tell my other siblings? How are they going to react at this? Kevin and Kyle and Maggie and Xavier will probably be cool with it 'cause they've met you already and they don't hate you guys anymore, but I still haven't seen 367, 570, 887, 029, and 144 since the fire. I don't know what they're going to say and think about this."

"Max is happy, at least," Zack said. "I think my other brothers and sisters will be, too. Don't worry, Becky. If they care about you as much as you tell me they do, then they'll not only accept this but be happy for you."

"You're probably right," Becky said.

The two of them sat quietly together for a few more minutes before Zack finally started talking again. "Are you curious about our biological parents?"

"A little, I guess, but I'm in no rush to go out and find them," Becky said. "Besides, according to the database, they're both in the military. Our biological father is some general who works at the pentagon now and our biological mother is a colonel at Ft. Benning in Georgia. I seriously doubt that either of them would be thrilled to learn that they have two transgenic children."

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

Becky looked down for a moment. "I do wish sometimes that I'd had a real mother and father. It would have been nice to grow up in a normal house in a normal family. You ever think about that?"

"Sometimes," Zack agreed. "To not have to worry about doing drills every single day, to not have to worry about running and hiding all of the time, to not be in constant fear of your brother's and sister's lives as well as your own..."

"...but then we wouldn't have the people that we care about," Becky finished. "If we did, it wouldn't be the same."

"As hard as our lives are, I wouldn't want to trade it," Zack said. "If I wanted to trade it, then I wouldn't care about the people in my life. I'd trade some people in it..."

"Now why spoil a perfectly good conversation by mentioning Logan Cale?" Becky said.

"I don't know," Zack said. "I guess I couldn't help it."

"I don't trust him completely either," Becky said. "But he hasn't done anything to either to take things too far with Max or to screw any of us over. He doesn't like you too much."

"So I was an asshole to him before," Zack said. He shrugged. "He deserved it."

Becky laughed. "I'm sure he did. Look, Zack, if you want to make a move, then make a move. Max is in love with you, but she just doesn't want to admit it yet. She won't reject you outright. Just don't try to force her into anything."

"I remember the last time I tried to force her to do something," Zack said. "It was the morning before I turned myself in to Lydecker. She pretty much kicked my ass. She definitely doesn't like to be forced into anything."

"Why don't you try just talking to her finally admitting outright how you feel about her," Becky said. "Let her know exactly where you stand."

"That's a good idea," Zack said. "I don't know what else to do. I'm not that big of a romantic on the surface. Maybe I am way deep down, but anything that has to do with the flowers and candy kind of romantic crap is beyond me."

"So do it," Becky said. "Stick around Seattle for a few days this time." She saw the look on Zack's face and grinned. "If it makes you feel better, I'll make sure that Cale is occupied or at least make sure he won't be able to disturb you while you and Max talk things over."

"Thanks," Zack said.

"You're welcome," Becky said. They were quiet again for several minutes.

"Becky?" Zack said.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you need me around at all?" Zack asked.

"What do you mean?" Becky said, confused.

"You're physically better than I am," Zack said. "You've had a few years more training than I did. You don't need me to watch over you."

Becky shook her head. "I might be stronger, I might be faster, my senses might be a little better and I might have quicker reflexes, but I'm not invincible. You're my older brother, Zack. I'm always going to need you. Nothing's going to change that and I couldn't be happier that nothing can change it."

Zack put an arm around Becky's shoulders and smiled at her. "Thank you." Becky smiled in return and put one of her arms around his shoulders and they just sat and watched the city.

TBC


	32. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"It's great to have the database finally cracked," Max said as she and Becky and Logan ate dinner together at Logan's penthouse the next night. "I finally have at least some answers."

"I know what you mean," Becky said. She grinned. "They were this close to demoting 224 back down to second-in-command of the Seattle X6s and replacing him with Jeff after 224 slashed my cheek on purpose during edge weapons training one day. It was actually the day that I made contact with Max. Remember that day? I had that bandage on my cheek?"

"I remember that," Max said. "I never knew that originally they were going to put me into Unit 8." She turned to Logan. "Apparently, at that point, they didn't decide which two sibs to keep together in a unit. Krit was born early and they shoved him with Zack and the others. There was this one girl who was born between me and Krit, 349, who was going to be in my unit instead of me. But when 349 was born, she turned out to have an identical twin, 350. Plus at that point, one of the kids in Unit 4 had died from some genetic defect, so they decided to replace that kid with 350, and put me and Krit in the same unit and have 349 go into Unit 8, since they already had a set of identical twins together in a unit in New York. Pretty weird."

_More proof that you and Zack were meant to be together if you ask me,_ Becky thought. "That is weird. They made a similar decision with my unit. Kevin actually has a brother who's about two weeks younger than he is, but they decided to put 299 into Unit 3. I saw him around occasionally back at Manticore. He's a nice guy."

"Are you going to tell Kevin about that?" Logan asked.

"I already did," Becky said. "I called him earlier today after Max and I had read all that info. I told him about that and about Zack and me."

"What was his reaction to both?" Max asked.

"Pretty good on both counts," Becky said. "Got the 'should have known you and Zack were related, you looked a lot alike' remark. He was happy for me. He said he hopes that he gets a chance to tell 299 sometime that they're brothers."

"Speaking of Zack, where's he at now?" Max said.

"Believe it or not, still here in Seattle," Becky said. "He's crashing on my couch. I think he's had a long last couple of weeks. We've all had a long last couple of weeks. He'll be in the city for at least a few days."

"That's good," Max said.

"Yeah," Logan echoed, but he was definitely a lot less happy about it than Max was.

_Man, oh man, is it fun to watch Logan Cale squirm!_ "I suggested to Zack that maybe you, me, and him to go out and race each other on our bikes one of these nights. Sound like fun?"

"Sure," Max said. "Last time I did that, I beat his ass. I didn't know it was him at the time, though. He hadn't popped back into my life before then and he was wearing one of those helmets so that I couldn't see his face though the shield."

"Hey, if you guys just want a rematch, I don't mind sitting out and letting you two go at it," Becky said. She sounded casual, but discretely looked out of the corner of her eye at Logan again. _Squirming some more! Damn, this is so much fun!_

"That sounds pretty good," Max said. "Logan, are you okay? You're fidgeting."

"Sorry," Logan said. "I'm wearing a new shirt. You know how it is, they're uncomfortable as hell until you wash them a few times."

_What a load of crap! 887 can lie better than that, and he's one of the worst liars I have ever seen._

Max's cell phone rang at that moment, interrupting Becky's train of thought. "Back in a sec." She got up and walked out of the dining room.

"So, Logan," Becky said. "How's Eyes Only going along?"

"It's going pretty well," Logan said. "I'm definitely back in the swing of things now. I'm currently working on exposing the current police chief's extra-curricular activities. When I say extra-curricular, it really is extra-curricular—to the twelve and thirteen-year-old girls who participate in them with him. I should have all of that ready to broadcast tomorrow night. I just need a few more things and it should be all set."

"Sounds interesting," Becky said.

"That was Zack," Max said, coming back into the dining room and sitting back down at the table.

"What did he want?" Becky asked.

"Just wanted to meet up with me," Max said. She shrugged. "He didn't really give a reason."

_Yes! He's taking my advice._ "Maybe he just wants to spend time with you. With all the crap that's been going on lately, he hasn't had a chance to actually do that."

"Could be," Max agreed.

Logan looked disappointed. "Max, I needed you to go take those last few photos of the police chief so I could show them in the broadcast I'm planning on doing tomorrow."

"I could do that for you just this once," Becky offered. "I know a few ways of spying on someone, myself."

"Thank you," Logan said gratefully.

"I should get going and meet Zack," Max said. "I'll see you both later."

"Have fun," Becky said.

Max left and Logan turned to Becky. "I really do appreciate you helping me, Becky. Thanks."

"330768235405 at your service tonight," Becky quipped. She gave Logan a mock salute and Logan laughed. "I'll get going on it in a little bit."

"Thanks," Logan said. "I've got to use the bathroom. Excuse me." He got up and left the table.

Becky turned in her seat and watched him leave the room. _I will get on it...just as soon as I temporarily disable your phone lines!_

TBC


	33. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max walked up to the park where Zack had asked her to meet him. She looked over and spotted him sitting on a bench nearby and walked over to him. "Hi."

"Hi," Zack said.

"So..." Max said. "You wanted to meet me here?"

"Yeah," Zack said. "I just thought we should just talk. Just you and me. I can't remember the last time that we did that."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "Do you want to walk around? The place is pretty much deserted."

Zack nodded and stood up and started walking. "Where's Becky?" he asked.

"Doing something for Logan," Max said. "She's getting some information Logan needs for this Eyes Only broadcast he's gonna do tomorrow."

Zack looked a little surprised. "She is? I thought she didn't want to help Logan."

"She still doesn't," Max said. "I had been planning on doing that tonight before you called. Logan was pretty disappointed that I was going to be meeting you here instead of helping him out tonight until Becky offered to help him for me."

"That was nice of her," Zack said. _I knew you wouldn't let me down, Becky._

"It really was," Max agreed.

"Anything interesting happening in your life aside from White hunting us down?" Zack wondered.

"He's actually been off of my case since Becky's sister Suzanne died," Max said. "I guess there's plenty to keep him occupied. Becky and I have been finding out some interesting things from the database. Did you know that I wasn't originally supposed to be in our unit?"

"I did," Zack said. "Lydecker always let me know who would be joining us and when. He'd told me a few weeks before you were born that 349 and then Krit would be the last two to join my unit. It wasn't until a couple of days after Krit was born that he told me that 349 had been born that day, but that there had been some changes made at the last minute and that you would be joining me and the others instead."

"Funny how some things work out," Max said. "I can't imagine what it would have been like growing up with Unit 8."

"I can't imagine what it would have been like to grow up without you in my life the way you always have been," Zack agreed softly.

Max's heart started racing at those words. Get _a grip, Max. It's just Zack. There's nothing surprising about him not imagining me in the family. Nothing surprising at all!_

Zack stopped and turned to Max. "Look, Max, I wanted to meet you her because I...need to tell you something. I should have told you this a long time ago and I would have if I wasn't too damn scared about how you'd react."

"You can tell me anything," Max said. "If you need to get something off of your chest, Zack, you can always come to me."

_Now or never. You can do this, Zack._ "Max, I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since we were kids. I never stopped loving you after the escape. When I first saw you again six months after we left Manticore, I couldn't bring myself to go to you. I was that scared. Then, when I actually made contact with you almost a year ago, I just..." Zack paused to try to get his emotions under control, but he couldn't. "Max, I can't just not let you know exactly how I feel anymore."

Max was stunned. "I don't know what to say."

"Just don't break my heart, Maxie," Zack said. "Please?"

Max looked up at Zack and saw a tear escape from one of his eyes. "Zack, I'd never do anything to hurt you." _Except not going to Canada with him because I had to save Logan or staying in behind in Seattle with Logan after we helped Tinga get away from Lydecker in Portland or when he walked in on Logan and me kissing when he came to get me to go try to get Tinga after she'd turned herself in to save Case. I kept on hurting Zack, and I never had a damn clue that I was doing it! Max closed her eyes for a moment. It hurts. It hurts so damn much to know the extent that I hurt Zack. Why does it hurt this much?_

"Maxie?" Zack asked. "Are you okay?"

"No," Max admitted. "I did hurt you, Zack. I can't believe how much pain I caused." She felt tears running down her own cheeks. "I wish I could take it back."

"It's okay," Zack said.

"It's okay? I acted like a callous bitch and you tell me that it's okay?" Max said incredulously. "How can you do that? I'd never be that forgiving."

Zack shrugged. "I don't know. Probably because I know that whatever you did, it wasn't mean-spirited where it mattered. Your…" He couldn't bring himself to say 'heart'. "…intentions were good."

"And the road to hell is paved with good intentions," Max muttered.

"Max, you don't have to be so hard on yourself," Zack said. "That might be odd advice coming from me, but it doesn't make it any less valid."

Max nodded, almost unconsciously reaching out with one hand to Zack, who took it in one of his own. "True enough." She looked down and saw their intertwined hands and, both surprisingly and not surprisingly to her at the same time, didn't make any kind of move to pull away. "But how am I supposed to avoid slicing your heart up again?"

Again, Zack hesitated. He could almost hear Becky's voice half-yelling at him in his head. _Don't force it on her, Zack. If you push too hard, too fast, then it's only going to turn out badly and that's the last thing that you want._ He finally settled on a simple "I don't know."

"Yeah," Max said softly. _How am I not supposed to break his heart again? That's what I'd be doing if I go back…_ She mentally frowned. _If I go back? When did it become 'if I go back?' It's always when I go back to Logan, hasn't it? Wasn't that why I did a Riverdance all over Zack's heart those times? It's not as if I love Logan—wait, don't I love Logan? Isn't that why I've been half-denying it to Original Cindy and everybody? Isn't that why we've been more-or-less dating since I got back from hell? Logan's a great friend, there's no denying that, but I don't—what the hell is with this 'I-Don't-Love-Logan dealio?_ Max bit her lip. _Maybe it's because it's actually true and you aren't actually in love with him. Zack, on the other hand--_ It took every bit of willpower and training that Max had not to gasp out loud. _I am in love with Zack! I'm honestly and completely in love with him!_ Things began to fall into place for her. _All those little things back when we were kids…the little signs here and now that we're both adults…how could I have missed them before?_

"Maxie?"

Max looked up at Zack. "I know how, now. I won't break your heart because I…" Her voice dropped to a whisper with her nerves. "…I love you."

"What?" Zack asked. By a miracle, he kept his voice relatively steady, but his heart was beating a mile a minute. _Don't let this be a dream, don't let this be some dream…please let her say what I think she did!_

"I love you," Max confirmed, looking right into his eyes.

The love that Zack saw in Max's expression almost overwhelmed him as he reached over to wipe off the tears that still remained on Max's face. Max reached up to do the same for him. Their gazes met again and they just looked into each other's eyes for a few moments before Zack leaned forward and kissed Max tenderly on the lips.

TBC


	34. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Here you go," Becky said to Logan as she handed him the digital camera he'd given her when she'd left earlier. "One pedophile slash police commissioner in action, just the way you like it."

"Thanks," Logan said. He went over to his computer and plugged the camera into it and uploaded the pictures. "I'm impressed. Nice work."

"No problem," Becky said.

"Do you know where Max is?" Logan asked.

"Probably still with Zack," Becky said. She looked at her watch. "Don't worry. It's only been an hour since she left to go meet him."

"I know," Logan said. _Max alone with Zack for an hour or for any length of time is too long. I can tell how Zack really feels about Max. I'm not an idiot. He'll try to take her from me the first chance he gets. I'd like to see him try! Max loves me. She only thinks of Zack as a brother._

Becky just watched Logan as he turned back to the computer and continued to prepare his Eyes Only report. _You need to learn how to hide what you're feeling better, Cale._ "You don't look too happy. Jealous?"

"I am jealous," Logan said. "Zack's never been too thrilled with the fact that Max and I have a relationship."

"That's just Zack being the protective big brother that he is," Becky lied. "He'd be like that with anybody that I or Jondy or Syl date and I'm willing to bet that he was like that when he found out about Tinga and her husband."

"You're most likely right," Logan said. "He's always trying to keep us apart, though. The night he and Max attempted to get their sister free, he caught me and Max kissing when he came to get Max. He did not look very happy."

"Think about it," Becky said. "He's ready to go rescue Tinga and he comes by to pick up Max so she can help him and instead of waiting for him by the door, she's kissing a guy. If I had been ready to go on a mission and I had to take Kyle or Kevin or one of my other brothers with me and I go to get them and I find them making out, I'd be annoyed as hell too."

"You're right," Logan said.

"You need to be less paranoid, Logan," Becky said. She was having a hard time not laughing out loud. _Here I am convincing him that Zack doesn't love Max as anything more or less than a sister, when Zack really is in love with her! This is going to be so sweet when Logan finds out, especially when Max and Zack hook up! I would absolutely love to be a fly on the wall when that happens. Well, for the him finding out that they hook up when they do, not the actual hooking up part. Yuck!_

"Logan? Becky? You guys here?" Max said from the living room.

"She's back," Logan said. "Yeah, we're in the computer room."

"Okay," Max said. She walked over to them. "Hey, Becky. Everything go okay on your end?"

"No problems," Becky said. "Got the pictures taken and the guy never knew I was there."

"Great," Max said. "Um, Becky, do you mind stepping out of the room for a sec? I need to talk to Logan privately."

"I don't mind," Becky said. "I was feeling like raiding Logan's fridge anyway." _Hook the phone lines back up, raid the fridge...sounds like a plan._ She got up and left the room.

Max pulled up a chair and sat down next to Logan. "Logan, I can't see you anymore."

"Very funny, Max," Logan said. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I can't see you anymore," Max said. "I'm ending it. I'm not in love with you."

"You're not in love with me?" Logan repeated. "How can this be? Max, we were going to be together. You said we had all the time in the world for us to be together."

"I said that we had all the time in the world to for us to take things farther if we wanted," Max said. "I don't want to take things any farther. I don't want to take this anywhere other than friendship."

"Is it someone else?" Logan asked.

"Yes. I'm in love with someone else," Max replied.

"Oh," Logan said. "Who?" _At least I know now that it can't be Zack. If I've lost Max to someone else, I can at least comfort myself with that._

"Zack," Max told him. "I'm in love with Zack and he and I are together."

Logan's jaw dropped. _What! Becky just told me that she didn't think that Zack loved Max in that way! How could he do this to me? How could he have stolen my Max? What the hell did he do to her?_ "What did he do to you?"

"Excuse me?" Max said. "Zack didn't do anything to me. I made this decision on my own."

"Come on," Logan said. "You're in love with me. You've been in love with me for at least six months and all of a sudden, you're not in love with me because you're in love with Zack? Shit like that doesn't happen overnight, Max."

"You're right," Max said. "I've been in love with Zack more or less my whole life. I didn't realize it before."

"So now you've never loved me?" Logan asked.

"I did love you!" Max exclaimed. "I never faked my feelings for you."

"So, what happened, did Zack do something to you? Maybe you and him—"

Max slapped Logan. "Not that's it's any of your business, but we didn't, you asshole. What the hell is wrong with you, Logan? Why aren't you acting like yourself? Please get it together. You're still one of the best friends I've had and I don't want to lose our friendship."

"I'm sorry," Logan apologized.

Max sighed. "I should get back to my place now, anyway. I'll call you after you cool off." She turned around and left the room. "That went well."

"So I heard," Becky said. "I don't know whether to slap Logan around or just be happy for you that you and Zack hooked up."

"Definitely the second and I'll let you know if I need you to do the first," Max said.

"Consider it done," Becky said.

"Actually, I need a favor from you," Max said.

"Just name it," Becky said. "What do you need?"

"Can you keep an eye on Logan for me?" Max asked. "You heard how he took it. Can you just check in on him from time to time to make sure he's okay?"

"Of course I will," Becky said.

"I'm gonna blaze," Max said. "You need a ride or is your bike still here?"

"It's still here," Becky said. "Wait for me down in the parking garage and I'll follow you back." Max nodded and left, and Becky glanced around the room, one of Logan's security cameras catching her eye. She left the penthouse, a grin on her face. _I'll keep an eye on Logan. I'll definitely keep an eye on him._

TBC


	35. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"So, I finally get the guy's signature for the package and I got my ass out of there," Original Cindy said as she and Max walked down the hallway to their apartment after work the following day. "I swear, I am never gonna make a delivery to anything even resembling a frat house again."

"You want me to talk some sense into them?" Max offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's cool," Original Cindy said. "Now that we finally have a chance, what was the deal with Logan?"

"We broke up," Max said. "That's all."

"You broke up with him? Damn," Original Cindy said, shaking her head. "I saw that one coming."

"Oh?" Max said. "Enlighten me."

"Come on, boo. I've seen how you look whenever..." Original Cindy paused to unlock their door and opened it. "...his name is mentioned."

"Huh?" Max said. She looked over where Original Cindy was and saw Zack in the middle of the living room. "Pick the lock or did Becky let you in?"

"Becky let me in," Zack said.

"Don't let me disturb you two," Original Cindy said. She went to her room and shut the door behind her.

Max grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go on a ride on my motorcycle with me," Zack said.

"I'd love to," Max said. "Just let me change and I'll be right with you." She walked into her own room and Zack sat down on the couch and waited for her. She only took a few minutes. "Ready to go."

"Great," Zack said. "My bike's right outside."

They walked outside and got on Zack's bike and took off. Max hung on tightly and laughed as Zack drove what would be considered recklessly for a normal human being. They just drove until they were several miles outside of the city in a wooded area. Zack shut down the bike and he and Max climbed off of it and just stood and looked around.

"This is beautiful," Max said. They were standing on a cliff and had an amazing view.

"I like to come here before I stop in Seattle," Zack said. "It helps clear my head."

"I can see why," Max said.

"I'm glad you like it," Zack said. "I wish I didn't have to go out to check up on Krit tomorrow."

"Me too," Max said. "I know you have to do the rounds and all that, but I wish that you could stay here."

"So do I," Zack said. He leaned down and kissed Max. "More than ever."

"When will you be back in Seattle?" Max asked.

"Less than a week," Zack said. "Krit's not too far away from here."

"...and you love me, but you still don't want to compromise op sec," Max finished.

Zack couldn't help grinning. "Someday. I promise."

"I know," Max said. "One of these days, we'll take that bastard White out and maybe things will be better then." She shrugged. "Maybe not. If it's not one person, it'll be somebody else. I don't know."

"She's finally starting to make sense," Zack deadpanned.

Max's jaw dropped. "Zack? Are you actually teasing me? Geez, Becky must be rubbing off on you."

"That girl wouldn't quit teasing me about you before I told her that I was finally ready to tell you how I felt," Zack said, shaking his head.

"I'm glad you finally did," Max said softly.

"Me too," Zack said. They kissed again. "I've never felt this happy before in my life."

"Me too," Max agreed. "I've got almost everything I've ever wanted."

"Are you sure? You know that Krit and Zane would never give us a moment's peace if they were around," Zack said. "Give those two an inch and they'll take a few hundred miles."

"I know," Max said. She grinned. "But I also know that you'll have them begging for mercy."

"Nice to know that my girlfriend has such faith in me," Zack said.

"Always," Max said. She kissed him again.

TBC


	36. Chapter 33a

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky smiled to herself as she walked down the sidewalk in downtown Seattle one night a few weeks later. She put her hands in her jeans pockets and whistled cheerfully as she walked towards her destination.

_It's a great night out. Stars are out, it's a little chilly but not too bad...definitely a great night to take a walk,_ she thought. _I hope Max and Zack are having fun on their date._ She made a face and shook her head. _For crying out loud, Becky, get your mind out of the gutter. You're getting to be almost as bad as Kevin._ She laughed to herself and continued on.

_Still got a couple of blocks before I get to the building. Zack said that the tryptophan he was gonna steal so he could take it to Syl when he leaves tomorrow to go check up on her is in a safe in an office up on the eighth floor. Sounds like some exec wanted to keep a stash so he could resell it on the black market. It shouldn't be too hard. Good thing it's a Sunday so there won't be many people in the building. I just hope the front door's open. Not that I have any problems with picking the stupid lock, but I want to deal with as few alarm systems as possible!_

Becky looked around and sighed to herself. _I almost wish more people were around. I wouldn't mind not spending tonight by myself. Max and Zack are a given, Original Cindy and Sketchy and everybody at Jam Pony, Alec included, have their own things going on tonight, and Jeff's off checking up on Riley._ She shrugged off or at least tried to shrug off the feeling of jealousy that came when he recalled Jeff's plans. _Nothing I wouldn't or haven't done with Kevin, Kyle, or Xavier. Speaking of my siblings, maybe I should call Maggie and see if she wants to hang out. She's within minutes of Seattle. I told her that was a little too close for comfort, but she seemed really shaken up by Suzanne's death, so I decided to let it slide. I should ask her to move soon, though. Logan's spotted White back in the general area again and I don't want Maggie in the line of fire if I can help it._

She walked up to the building and looked up at it. _Nice place. I wonder how Zack found out about the tryptophan being here and not in this company's labs in the first place._ She grinned. _Who knows and who cares? Which reminds me, I should start thinking about what I should get Zack for his birthday next month. The big 2-5, sucker! There was that automatic that I saw when I was looking for a new one for myself. It looked like the model that Zack told me he liked to use._

Becky walked to the front doors and tried to open it. It opened with no problems. _Good. One thing down, a few more to go._ She walked inside and looked around. She saw a janitor cleaning the floor across the lobby, but nobody else. She bit her lip and started to walk towards the stairs. _That's odd. I know it is a Sunday night, but there should be more people in the lobby than just a janitor!_ She tried to shrug it off and continued up the stairs until she got to the eighth floor. _Nobody else on the stairs with me. I know that there's at least one other set of stairs in this building and there is an elevator, but I still should have seen or heard more people using the stairs! There is something not right going on here._ She exited the stairs at the eighth floor and walked down the hallway towards the office Zack had told her to go to. _It's too damn quiet here. Something's definitely wrong. I'm gonna bail and come back later tonight. I hate to let Zack down, but..._ She started to turn around to walk back to the stairs when she did hear a voice and froze.

"Agent White, this is Alpha Three," the voice said from the other side of the building and a floor or two down from where Becky was.

_White's here!_ Becky thought. _Crap, this is getting worse!_

"White here, Alpha Three. Report."

_Sounds like it's coming from a walkie-talkie. I have no clue where White is._

"There's still no sign of him, sir," Alpha Three said. "Our man in the lobby reported a lone female in her late teens entering the building a few minutes ago, though. Are you sure he will show up?"

"I am quite sure," White replied. His next words made Becky's heart almost stop. "My source told me that 599 would be at this building at approximately this time tonight. Do you have an ID on the girl?"

"Just coming in now, sir," Alpha Three said. "The girl has been positively IDed as X6-405."

_Oh, shit!_

* * *

"Men," Max remarked as she and Zack entered Becky's apartment. "They always forget something. You should get a wallet, Zack."

"I don't need one," Zack said. "It's not like I carry any ID around with me."

"True," Max admitted. "But you would carry your wallet around with you all of the time and then you wouldn't leave your money at whatever place you call home for the week or day or whatever."

"Not necessarily," Zack said.

Max shrugged. "Whatever. Speaking of places to call home, why do you still crash on Becky's couch when you're in Seattle? She's got a second bedroom in this apartment. Why don't you just sleep in there?"

"Because Becky keeps her toys in the other bedroom," Zack said.

"She has enough toys that she requires a whole bedroom to keep them in?" Max said. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Her toys aren't the only thing she keeps in there," Zack said. "She uses that room as a general storage room slash garage. Half of the room is cleared away so she can park her motorcycle and her bicycle."

"That's a good idea," Max said. "I know I wished I had a third bedroom for me to keep my baby in when Kendra was rooming with me."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "You're still not over her using your motorcycle as a clothesline?"

"What if Becky hung her laundry over your bike?" Max replied.

Zack shook his head. "Never in a million years."

"I knew you'd see my point," Max said. She waited while Zack reached into his bag for his money. Something caught her eye and she looked down at the coffee table and saw a laptop computer on it. "I didn't know Becky had a laptop."

"Yeah, she just got it yesterday," Zack said.

"This looks nice," Max said. "I'm impressed. Where did she get the dough for this?"

"She didn't," Zack said.

"Cool," Max said. "I've gotten things worth at least as much as this before." She looked down at the laptop's screen and one icon on its desktop caught her eye. "'Hawk'? What's that, some kind of video game? I didn't think Becky was the type to play video games and things like that."

"It's not a video game," Zack said. "It's a tap into the security cameras in Logan's penthouse."

"What!" Max said.

Zack shrugged. "You were the one who asked Becky to keep an eye on Logan for you. When my youngest sister does something, she doesn't do it halfway."

Max nodded. "I know." She grinned. "Wanna see what Logan's doing now?"

"Sure," Zack said. "She told me to just double click on the Hawk icon and go from there."

"Cool," Max said. She did what Zack said and soon a window popped up. It was split into several different parts, one for each room in Logan's penthouse except for the bathrooms. "Not bad."

"She's even got the audio," Zack said. "His cameras have microphones. You can hear everything."

"He's in the computer room," Max said.

"What a surprise," Zack said. He rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha," Max said. She elbowed Zack and turned her attention back to Becky's laptop. "I wonder if..." She double clicked on the part of the window that showed Logan in his computer room and it expanded to take up the entire window and the audio came on. "Very nice."

They watched as Logan sat at his computer and stared at his monitor for several moments. They could hear some faint—and familiar—audio.

"That sounds like you and Becky," Zack said, confused. "That can't be possible unless he's watching old footage because this is a live feed."

"I know," Max said. "It sounds like it's from yesterday when she and I were over there and Logan went out of the room for a few minutes. I know that's when it's from because that's Becky telling me about how she offered to get that tryptophan that you want to take to Syl for you so that you and I could have some more quality time before you had to leave."

On the screen, Logan stopped the footage that he was watching and smirked. He clicked on something a few times before he reached for his cordless phone. Glancing at his monitor again, he dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up on the other end. "Hello, can I please speak with Special Agent White?"

Max gasped in shock. "Why the hell would Logan want to talk to White?"

"I don't know," Zack said. _This can't be good. I knew Cale was bad news when I first met him._

"Special Agent White?" Logan said into his phone. "Let's just say that I'm a concerned citizen. I have my ways. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I have some information that I think that you will find useful. I happen to know that X5-599 will be showing up at the following location around nine PM tomorrow night." He gave White the location of the building. "Let's just say that 599 is a former associate of mine who double crossed me. Now that I know just who he is, I have no problems turning him in to the person more qualified to take care of him than I am. You're welcome."

Zack paled. "Holy...Becky..." He and Max looked at each other and then bolted out of the apartment, heading outside to their motorcycles. They jumped on and headed off towards Becky's location. They made it nearly halfway there before Zack's cell phone rang. He looked at the number, pulled over, and answered it immediately. "What's your situation?"

"I'm in trouble," Becky said. "I need help ASAP. I just walked into a trap apparently meant for you and they know it's me."

"We know. We caught some of the live feed from Cale's," Zack said as Max pulled her motorcycle up next to his. "He's the one who tried to set me up."

"Damn it," Becky swore.

"What's your status right now?" Zack asked.

"I'm on the eighth floor," Becky said. "They've got men above and below and they're closing in, so I'm stuck on this level. White had his people lock the doors to every office and closet so that you—or me, as it turns out—would have no place to hide."

"Are you armed at all?" Zack said.

"Yeah, I got my nine millimeter with me," Becky said.

"Good," Zack said. "Keep trying to find a hiding place. If you can't, try to sneak past the people above you and get to the roof and get away that way until you're clear and call me then. Max and I will be there in less than five minutes."

"Got it," Becky said. "Hu—" She was suddenly cut off.

"Becky? Becky!" Zack yelled into the phone.

"Come on," Max said as she jumped back onto her motorcycle. Zack jumped onto his and they zoomed away.

TBC


	37. Chapter 33b

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Come on, come on, there's got to be some place for me to hide," Becky said as she tried another door, only to find that it was also locked. "This is not good." She grabbed her cell phone and speed dialed Zack's number. He answered on the first ring.

"What's your situation?" he said.

"I'm in trouble," Becky said. "I need help ASAP. I just walked into a trap apparently meant for you and they know it's me."

"We know," Zack said. "We caught some of the live feed from Cale's. He's the one who tried to set me up."

"Damn it," Becky swore. _That son-of-a-bitch! How dare he! He's going to regret this._

"What's your status right now?"

"I'm on the eighth floor. They've got men above and below and they're closing in, so I'm stuck on this level," Becky said, still listening for more signs of White and his men. "White had his people lock the doors to every office and closet so that you—or me, as it turns out—would have no place to hide."

"Are you armed at all?"

"Yeah, I got my nine millimeter with me," Becky said. She checked to make sure it was still tucked in the waistband of her jeans. _Thank goodness._

"Good. Keep trying to find a hiding place," Zack told her. "If you can't, try to sneak past the people above you and get to the roof and get away that way until you're clear and call me then. Max and I will be there in less than five minutes."

"Got it," Becky said. She could hear White's men getting closer. "Hu—" She abruptly stopped, disconnecting the cell phone and shoving it back into her pocket and bringing her gun up and firing at the men who came out of the elevator and bolted back towards the stairs. _Why couldn't they have given me five more minutes!_

"Sir, she's running," one of the men said.

"Alpha team, you are to pursue 405. Shoot to kill. I repeat, shoot to kill," White said.

"Not if I can help it," Becky said to herself as she kicked the rifle out of one of the soldiers who came at her and elbowed him and whipped around and kicked another in the head. _There's no way in hell you're taking me at all, much less without a fight!_ She turned back around and fired a few more shots at the men coming at her from that direction and continued to run for the stairs. She ducked as another soldier tried to hit her and punched him and kicked another one in the knee, destroying it and taking him down. She reached the door to the stairs and opened it and viciously slammed it into the face of another soldier before bolting up the stairs, only to find herself face-to-face with the soldiers who had been up on the ninth and tenth floors. Becky didn't pause or hesitate for a moment. She fought her way past several of the soldiers and grabbed the rifle right out of the hands of another and hit him in the head. She heard the ones behind her draw their guns and immediately turned around and threw the soldier she'd just disarmed back down the stairs at his comrades, taking them down and continued to race up the stairs. She was almost to the roof when she saw White standing by the door with a smirk on his face.

"Where do you think you're going, 405?" he asked.

"Where do you think?" Becky said, quickly drawing her gun again. She shot White in the thigh and shoved past him. "I don't have time to kill your sorry ass today." She shoved the door open and ran onto the roof and continued to run, jumping from roof to roof. She slowed down and stopped after a minute or to and tried to catch her breath.

_That was way too close! Crap, I hate this. I should find the fire escape and get down it and let Zack know I'm clear._ She straightened up suddenly when she heard something behind her and saw White running from roof to roof after her. She bolted. _Damn, how the hell can he be doing that at all, much less with a bullet in his thigh?_

"Surprised, 405?" White said.

"What do you think, asshole?" Becky managed. She heard White shooting and gasped in pain as one bullet grazed her upper right arm. _Son-of-a-bitch!_ She quickly turned around and shot him in his other leg, but he continued to run. _He's not even showing any pain! Why the hell is he running so fast? He shouldn't be that close to me!_

White continued to chase Becky across the rooftops, not losing too much ground on her and exchanging fire with her as they ran. Suddenly, White stopped shooting.

_Why did he stop shooting?_ Becky wondered. She looked ahead of her and realized why.

* * *

Zack and Max slowed their motorcycles to a stop several blocks down from the building. The quickly chained them up and started running.

"I hope we're not too late," Zack said. "We better not be too late."

"We won't be," Max said. "If she's not still in the building, fighting off White's men, then she probably did what you told her to do and snuck out of there and is looking for a hiding place. She'll be fine."

"I hope so," Zack said. "I hear her on the roof tops a few building down...there's someone following her? How can that be possible?"

"I don't know," Max said. "It can't be a transgenic." She went pale. "It sounds like White."

"How could White chase her like that?" Zack wondered as they headed closer to them. "I hope Becky can dodge bullets."

"You and me—he stopped shooting," Max said. They ducked behind a building and peeked around.

"Why—oh no," Zack said. "The gap."

"Shit," Max said. There was a good-sized side lawn next to the building that was next to the one that they were hiding behind, and in between the lawn and their building was a side street and a wide sidewalk. "There's no way she can jump it. She's screwed."

"Yeah," Zack said. _There's got to be a way for Becky to get out of this! We've got to distract White somehow._ He looked back up and felt his heart jump into his throat. "No way. She's not really going to do it..."

* * *

Becky saw the large gap ahead and bit her lip. _That's gonna be a close call. I've never jumped anything that large before. I don't have a choice, though. It's either try to jump the gap or stop and let White shoot so many holes in me I look like a cheap piece of Swiss cheese!_

White couldn't help grinning as he saw Becky jump onto the roof before the gap. _The little freak is trapped. She's gonna die now._

Becky took a deep breath and picked up speed. _Here goes nothing..._ She took off and soared across the gap. _Come on, come on, almost there..._ She felt herself starting to fall. _No. I'm so damn close!_ She reached out to try to grab the edge of the roof and felt it scrape underneath her fingernails. _Oh no, oh no..._

* * *

"Come on, Becky, you can do it..." Zack muttered to himself as he and Max watched Becky take off across the gap.

"Oh crap, she's not gonna make it," Max realized.

"She will," Zack insisted. "She has to." They watched as Becky desperately reached out for the other building and disappeared from view. Zack held his breath and waited for the sound of Becky hitting the ground. A moment later, there was a muffled thud, followed by a loud slam. Zack's heart jumped into his throat and it felt like everything inside him suddenly went icy cold. He closed his eyes. "Becky..."

"It didn't sound like she hit the ground," Max said quickly. "It sounded to me like she fell in maybe a dumpster or something. She still could be alive."

"She has to be," Zack said. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

* * *

White stood on the rooftop that Becky had just jumped off of, smiling satisfactorily to himself. _That freak at least had the courtesy to do the job for me. I've got to give her credit for that._ He walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down, but it was too dark for him to see anything, much less a body. He sighed and walked back to the middle of the roof and was about to pull out his walkie-talkie to get what was left of his men to look for Becky's body when his cell phone rang.

"Fenos'tol," he answered. "The transgenic I was just after fell and died when she attempted to jump between buildings to get away from me. I was about to send teams to search for the body." He listened for a few minutes. "Are you sure it can wait? There's no way even a transgenic can survive a ten-story fall, but I still would like official confirmation." He listened some more. "Of course, the wishes of the Conclave must always come first. I will be there. Fenos'tol." He disconnected and walked over to the fire escape and left.

* * *

Zack and Max waited until White was well out of hearing and sight range before they walked out from their corner of the building and over to where they'd heard Becky fall. Sure enough, there was a large closed dumpster. Max immediately went over and dragged a crate in front of it and Zack stepped onto it and lifted the dumpster's lid and looked inside. Becky was lying in the half-full dumpster, unconscious but definitely alive.

Zack sighed in relief. _Thank goodness she's alive. I thought I lost her._

"How is she?" Max asked.

"Out cold," Zack said. "And her left shoulder is definitely dislocated, but she's alive."

"Thank God," Max said.

"Yeah," Zack said quietly. He shook his head and gently tapped Becky on the back, trying not to touch her injured shoulder. "Becky? Becky, it's Zack. You can wake up now. You're safe."

* * *

_Man, am I hurting...wait a sec, I'm actually still alive!_ Becky thought as she regained consciousness. _I'm lying on something vaguely soft that's definitely not gravel and it smells like hell. It broke my fall, so I shouldn't complain too much._ She heard something open above her and a moment later felt somebody tap her on her back.

"Becky? Becky, it's Zack. You can wake up now. You're safe."

Becky blinked and turned over slowly onto her right side, wincing in pain. "Zack?"

"I'm here," Zack said. "Come on." He carefully reached inside the dumpster and lifted Becky out. "Can you stand."

"Yeah, I think so," Becky said. Zack set her down and Becky closed her eyes. "It would be nice if everything stopped spinning for a moment."

"Just take a deep breath," Max said. "Don't push it."

"I don't want to," Becky said. She groaned. "It's been a long time since I've been in this much pain."

"You sound like you have a concussion," Max said.

"I feel like it, too," Becky said. "My shoulder's dislocated and that asshole White grazed me with a bullet on my other arm. I'm just hurting all over right now."

"We should get you checked out," Zack said.

"I'll live," Becky said.

"Becky, you just took a ten-story fall into a dumpster," Zack pointed out. "You need to be checked out. The only problem is that I don't feel safe going to see any of Cale's contacts."

"Not a problem," Becky said. She reached with her better arm for her cell phone and looked at it. "I can't believe it's still in my pocket at all, much less working. I'll call Maggie. She's only two towns over." She managed to hit four on her speed dial and waited for Maggie to answer.

"Becky? What's going on?" Maggie asked when she picked it up.

"I need you to check me over and patch me up," Becky said. "Can you go to my apartment with your med gear?"

"Of course," Maggie said. "I'm in the city right now, so I'll meet you there. What's going on?"

"I'll explain later," Becky said.

"I'll see you in a few minutes, then," Maggie said.

Becky disconnected and put her cell phone away. "Maggie will meet us at my apartment."

"Can you ride on the back of a motorcycle?" Zack asked.

"I think so if you don't drive insanely fast," Becky said.

"Good," he said. "Let's go."

TBC


	38. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Maggie stood outside the door of Becky's apartment. She set down her bag with her medical gear and looked at her watch thoughtfully. She heard people coming up the stairs and sure enough, Becky and Max and Zack appeared a few moments later.

"Hey," Maggie said. She wrinkled her nose. "No offense, Becky, but you smell like the inside of a toilet."

"You're close," Becky said. "Dumpster."

"Oh," Maggie said. She took a good look at Becky. "You definitely look like you took a beating. What happened?"

"I'll explain when we get inside," Becky said.

"Okay," Maggie said.

"My key should be in my pocket," Becky said. She reached for her key with her right hand and was about to open the door when she saw that Zack had beaten her to it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Zack said.

"Sit down and I'll have a look at you," Maggie said. She waited for Becky to sit down on the couch before she opened her bag and took out a small light and shone it in Becky's eyes. "Yep, mild concussion. Can you take off your t-shirt so I can check your shoulder and stitch the graze on your other arm?"

"Yeah," Becky said. She saw Zack start to turn around and smirked. "Relax, Zack, I'm wearing a tank top under this shirt."

"Even with a concussion," Zack muttered.

Becky carefully took off her t-shirt. "Not easy to do when you've only got one good arm and you're knocked for a loop."

"True," Maggie said. She examined Becky's injured shoulder for a few moments before she turned to Max and Zack. "Could one of you hold her still for a moment while I pop this back into place?"

"Sure," Max said. She held Becky's other shoulder to keep her still while Maggie put Becky's left shoulder back into its proper place.

Becky hissed. "Damn, Maggie."

"What are you talking about? That was gentle as hell," Maggie said. "I know, I know, having a shoulder popped back into place is never fun, no matter how careful the doctor is." She reached into her bag and pulled out a sling and put it on Becky's left arm. "Keep this on until you get up in the morning the day after tomorrow. It should be pretty much 100 percent another few days after that. You should definitely be able to go back to work after you take the sling off as long as you don't deliver anything too heavy until Thursday. It should be totally okay then."

"Thanks," Becky said.

"So, what exactly happened?" Maggie asked as she cleaned and stitched up the bullet graze.

"Well, first things first before I tell you why you had to come here tonight to patch me up," Becky said. "Remember how I said to you and Kevin that Max had gotten the Manticore database from Renfro right after Renfro lit the match on the place and Logan Cale was working on decrypting it?"

"Yeah," Maggie said.

"Well, Logan did decrypt it and we found out some interesting things," Becky said. "Including the fact that Zack is actually my brother. As in we have the same parents."

"Wow," Maggie said. "I'm happy for you, Becky. You too, Zack."

"Thanks," Zack said.

"Anyway, Zack has been in love with Max ever since they were little," Becky continued. "He admitted his feelings to Max a few weeks ago and she felt and feels the same way about him and they're dating now."

"So she broke up with Logan?" Maggie said.

"Yeah, I did," Max said. "I tried to break it to him as easy as I could, but he still didn't take it very well."

"It seemed like he calmed down at least a little since then," Becky said. "Zack hasn't been around to the penthouse since around that time and that seemed to help Logan cool off, or at least that's what we thought." She closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead. "You got anything for my headache? It feels like all you guys are sparring inside my brain."

"I brought pain meds," Maggie said. "I'll give you an injection after I make sure there are no other significant injuries."

"Zack was planning on leaving tomorrow to go check up on one of his other sisters," Becky said. "Syl. You probably know her as 701. Anyway, Syl still uses tryptophan to control her seizures because she left before they figured out the permanent fix for the seizures unlike Max and Zack who were recaptured when the three of them and their brother Krit blew the DNA lab and subsequently had their seizures fixed then. Syl's tryptophan supply was starting to run low and she was having a hard time locating more where she's living now so Zack offered to bring some to her. He found out that some drug company or someone in said company was keeping a stash in their offices downtown and he was gonna go tonight. I told Max about it last night when we were at Logan's and she seemed a little down, so later that night after she had gone back to her apartment and I was here with Zack, I offered to get the tryptophan for Zack so that he and Max could spend some more quality time together before they left."

"That was really nice of you," Maggie said.

Becky started to shrug out of reflex, but stopped just in time. "So I went over to the building as planned and after I got in, I had a feeling that something was off. It only got worse when I got to the correct floor and I was about to bail when I heard White and his men in the building."

Maggie's jaw dropped. "The guy who killed Suzanne?"

"The one and only," Zack said.

"What was worse was what I heard them talking about over their walkie-talkies," Becky said. In spite of the pain that she was in, her eyes were cold and hard as steel. "Those bastards had set a trap for Zack."

Maggie quickly put two-and-two together. "Logan somehow overheard you and Max and set a trap for Zack because he got so jealous that he wanted Zack out of the way permanently, but you ended up getting caught in the trap instead."

"Exactly," Becky said. She and Max and Zack continued to tell her what happened.

"So then we realized that Becky had nowhere to go," Zack said.

"My only option was to try to jump the gap to the next roof," Becky said. "I didn't have a choice. I almost made it, too. Another inch or two and I think I would have. If I didn't land in that dumpster or if that dumpster wasn't half full with trash..." She bit her lip and sat back as it hit her just how close she came to dying. She wiped the tears that fell down her cheeks with her good hand. "So that's the story."

"My God, Becky," Maggie said softly. "You are so damn lucky."

"The only mystery is why White is as fast as he was and how he kept going without even the slightest hint of pain after Becky had shot him in both of his legs," Max said. "This is not a good sign."

Maggie nodded and turned back to Becky. "Other than the concussion, dislocated shoulder, and bullet graze, your only other injuries are just a hell of a lot of bumps and bruises. You're gonna be black-and-blue all over. You seriously need to rest, but don't forget to be woken up every forty-five minutes tonight because of the concussion."

"I'll make sure to wake her up," Zack said. "You should stay the night, just in case."

"Do you see a resemblance between them? I'm having a hard time seeing it," Maggie said to Max.

"I know what you mean," Max deadpanned. "If I hadn't seen the database, I wouldn't know that they're brother and sister."

"Very funny," Becky said.

"I'll stay for the night," Maggie said. "Zack does have a point. You got someplace for me to sleep?"

"You can have the couch," Zack told her. "I'll sleep in one of the chairs in Becky's room tonight."

"Thank you," Maggie said.

"We still have another matter to think about," Max said. "Logan."

The fear temporarily vanished in Becky's eyes as the venom came back full force. "He can rot in hell for what he tried to do and for what almost happened."

"He almost got my youngest sister killed," Zack said. His voice was every bit as angry as Becky's was. "Nobody does that. Not if they have any plans for living a long life."

"Some guys don't take no for an answer," Max said bitterly. "The bastard."

"What are you guys gonna do?" Maggie asked. "Do you need my help? If you do, I'm there. I already lost one sister recently and he almost made me lose another. He deserves whatever you're gonna give to him."

"We'll let you know if we need you," Becky said. "What should we do? Should we just show Logan the footage of him ratting Zack out? The program I have automatically records everything and saves it for thirty-six hours before it deletes it if you don't tell it otherwise."

Zack shook his head. "Logan can just claim it's doctored footage. It's fairly easy to do something like that."

"So we need to trap him somehow," Becky said. Maggie got out a syringe of pain medication from her bag and held it out to Becky, but Becky shook her head. "After we figure out what we're doing about Cale. Then you can give me the pain meds. I don't want to be knocked out while this is going on."

Max nodded and looked over at Becky's laptop. She smiled a little. "I've got an idea."

TBC


	39. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Zack sat in a chair next to his sister's bed, just watching her sleep. Max had gone to get some food and Maggie was sleeping on the couch, so the apartment was relatively quiet.

_She actually looks relaxed. Becky rarely looks this relaxed. She can't really, just like I can't. I don't know if it's a C.O. thing or if it's just something in our blood or what._ Zack sighed. _I can't believe she made it out of that ambush alive. I just thought..._

"She's right in front of you, Zack," Max's voice interrupted Zack's train of thought. "She's not going anywhere."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Zack asked.

"I know you," Max said. She leaned down and gave him a kiss. "I brought a few pizzas back. I didn't know how much Maggie would eat, so I got extra. I also got a bottle of tryptophan for you to take to Syl when you finally leave."

"Thanks," Zack said. "Do you think you'll be ready for tomorrow?"

Max's eyes looked troubled. "Ready or not, I'll do my part. Logan went from friend number one to threat number one in two seconds. If we don't do pull off our plan, then your life's always going to be in danger from him, and Becky's as well if Logan finds out what really went down, and..." Max looked towards the bedroom floor. "I've got no choice." She bravely gave Zack a small smile. "Did you speak to Syl?"

"Yeah, I told her I was going to be delayed getting to her by a day or two," Zack said. "I got her to agree to not come to Seattle and I told her everything. If we need any more help, she's on stand by."

"She's not too far away herself, right?" Max said.

"Right," Zack confirmed. "She and Krit are living together."

"Oh," Max said. She grinned. "About time."

"That's what she said when I told her about you and me," Zack said. "I would have given her the lecture, but I'm too damn tired."

Max took Becky's desk chair and pulled it up next to the chair that Zack was sitting in and sat down and took Zack's hand. "Are you okay, Zack?"

"I don't know," Zack admitted. "I'm just wondering how many more times I'm going to have to go through this. I can't even begin to count how many close calls we've all had over the years."

Max looked surprised. "I'd gotten the impression from you that I was the only 'black sheep' of our family."

Zack shook his head. "No. Hell, I knew you could get yourself out of trouble just as easily as you could get yourself into it. You've always been that way."

"Yeah," Max said.

"I remember there was a time not too long after I'd begun to find you and the others after the escape that I was starting to think that I was going to run out of places to relocate Rena because she kept on getting into trouble," Zack recalled. "I must have moved her at least eight or nine times within a three-month span before she finally settled down and stayed in Texas for the next three years."

"That's our Rena," Max said, grinning. "I can certainly see why you'd had to move her around so much when we were younger. She was even more of a hell raiser than I was back in the day."

"She still is," Zack said. His face sobered again. "A few of those times, I got there by the skin of my teeth. At least once, I ended up cutting it so close that we both almost got caught and taken back to Manticore."

"Rena's fine now, right?" Max asked.

"She is," Zack said. He looked down for a moment. "She got through, and you've gotten through, and Becky and others, but I wish I wasn't too late for Ben or Tinga or Reese."

Max was shocked. "Reese's dead?"

"Five years ago," Zack confirmed. "He was in Philadelphia at the time. Lydecker had caught onto him and he'd called me to let me know that he was in trouble. I was about eighteen hours out from his position at that point and I got there as fast as I could, but it was too late." He paused before he continued to tell Max. "He'd actually evaded Lydecker on his own and called me when he got to a good hiding place. When I got there, he was dying. He died only a few minutes after I got to him."

"How did he die?" Max asked.

"Progeria," Zack said. "He must have started to develop the symptoms after he got away from Lydecker."

Max was quiet. _It must have been a double nightmare for him when we went to rescue Brin and seeing her like that. He lost another sibling to that damn disease._ "Brin might be herself again, you know."

"I know," Zack said.

"Do you hate Brin for stopping you from sacrificing yourself for me?" Max asked.

"No," Zack said. "I was angry at first when you told me what she'd done, but maybe part of me wants to believe that she didn't see that it was you on the operating table and only saw me about to kill myself and she didn't want me to die."

Max nodded. "I think so, too. I don't think Manticore totally converted her. They never really converted Jace, either. She stayed, but she broke the rules when she fell in love with Victor and he got her pregnant."

"And you got her to totally break free," Zack agreed. "Thanks for telling me where she was."

"What happened when you went down to Mexico to see her after the fire? Was she surprised?" Max asked.

"She was," Zack said. He smiled. "She said she should have known that I would have been able to surprise her, even with the eight or so years of training she had on me. She was thrilled to see me. Her daughter's adorable."

"Is she like her cousin at all?" Max asked.

"No. Little Max seems to be pretty normal so far", Zack said. "She liked me, though."

"That would classify her as not normal," Becky mumbled.

Zack and Max jumped a little. "I'm sorry if we woke you up," Max apologized.

"It's okay," Becky said. She turned her head to look at her alarm clock. "I would have had to have been woken up again in a few minutes, anyway."

"Feeling better, baby sister?" Zack asked.

"A little," Becky said. "Either that or whatever Maggie gave me a shot of hasn't worn off yet."

"Are you okay, Becky?" Max said. "Mentally okay."

"I don't know," Becky confessed. "I've never come that close to dying before. I'm not used to being the one who needs to be rescued. I've always been the one to do the bailing out before. It's like I would joke around to my younger brothers and sisters all the time: I'm the commanding officer. It's part of the job description. I'm the oldest so I'm the one who saves everybody's necks."

"It's okay to let someone rescue you once in awhile," Zack told her. "If it wasn't for Max, I'm not sure I could have stayed out of Manticore when they let me go so they could try to track the others through me."

Becky nodded. "Yeah."

"Why don't you get some more sleep?" Max suggested. "It's only three in the morning. One of us will wake you up again."

"Okay," Becky said. She smiled at them. "Thanks for getting me out of there. I owe you guys so much."

"You're family," Max said. "You don't owe us anything."

Becky grinned. "Thank you."

TBC


	40. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Some spoiler-ish stuff for "...And Jesus Brought a Casserole."

Max looked over at Becky as they stood in front of Logan's front door the next day. "Are you sure that you'll be okay?"

"Like I told Zack, even with a bad shoulder and a concussion, I can still kick Logan's ass from here to next week," Becky said.

"That's not what I meant," Max said.

"I don't know," Becky admitted. She took a deep breath. "I'm just so damn furious with Logan that I can barely think straight. I don't want to blow my cover before I'm supposed to. I should be able to do this. I mean, I've managed to control myself when I've been in front of Lydecker more times than I can count."

"If you can't completely control yourself, try to pass it off as crabbiness because you're injured," Max said.

Becky nodded. "I'll try. What about you?"

"I don't know, either," Max said. "I know what we have to do and I know that there's absolutely no way around it, but I still feel a little sick about it, mostly about the fact that it's come to this in the first place."

"I know what you mean," Becky said sympathetically.

"I hope you're ready to earn that Academy Award. Here goes," Max said. She glanced towards the stairs where Zack and Maggie were waiting and knocked on Logan's door.

"Just a minute," Logan shouted from inside. Becky and Max waited a moment before the door opened. "Hey, you guys. Come on in."

"Thanks," Max said. "You look pretty chipper today."

"I feel pretty chipper today," Logan agreed. _It helps when you know that the man who stole your girlfriend is dead!_ He looked back at Becky and did a double take when he noticed the sling on her left arm and the bruising on her right. "What happened to you?"

"I fell," Becky told him.

"Were you trying a trick on your motorcycle?" Logan guessed.

_Not on my motorcycle, but..._ "It was a hell of a trick, all right. Too bad it didn't work the way I'd hoped it would," Becky said.

"What's on your agenda for today?" Max asked.

"Not much," Logan said. "I was thinking of just relaxing today. How about you?"

"Blowing off work today," Max said, shrugging. "I just feel like it."

"I've got no choice about that one," Becky said.

"Which reminds me," Max said. She turned to Becky and gave her an irritated look. "I believe that Becky has something she has to apologize for."

"Why do I have to apologize?" Becky asked, pretending to be annoyed. "I was only doing what you asked me to do!"

_The award for best actress is a tie between Becky and Max for 'Being Nice to the Bastard Who Tried to Get My Boyfriend Killed and Ended Up Almost Getting Becky Killed Instead'!_ "Even so," Max said. She took off her backpack and took out Becky's laptop. "I was worried about you a few weeks ago when I first told you about me and Zack, so I asked Becky to keep an eye on you. She did what I asked a little too well. Double click on the icon marked 'Hawk.'"

Logan did that and blinked in surprise. "This is a tap into the penthouse's security cameras."

"Yeah, it's a live feed, too," Becky informed him. She pointed to the camera in the corner of the living room with her good hand. "Wave to the camera, Maxie!"

Max waved and Logan saw her waving on the screen. "Wow. I don't know whether to be annoyed or impressed."

"Oh, there's more," Becky said. "When you double click on one of the rooms, you get the full audio, too. You can also save parts of the footage if you want. Open the file labeled 'sample' and I'll show you. It starts playing automatically."

"Sure," Logan said. He did what Becky asked and a window popped up. It was Logan in the computer room just two minutes before he called White. Logan watched the footage with Max and Becky. He saw himself reach for his cordless phone in the footage and glanced at the time in the corner of the window and went pale and tried to get up, but Max held him down in the chair he was sitting in. He sat there and watched and heard himself selling out Zack to White. He stayed frozen in place after Max had stopped the footage.

"Well?" Max demanded. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I—I—it's not what you think," Logan stammered.

"Then tell me what it is, because it looks to me like you sold my brother out," Becky said, her voice cold.

"I didn't," Logan protested.

"Then what did you do?" Max said. "Damn it, Logan! How could you do something like that?"

"That's his problem, Max," Becky reminded her. "I always knew it, remember? He doesn't stop to think of the big picture."

"As a matter of fact, I did," Logan said angrily. He looked over at Becky and shrank back into his chair. "I did."

"Pray tell, how?" Becky said. She leaned closer to Logan. As injured as she was, she didn't look any less intimidating at that moment. "Please enlighten me. You better make it good, you sorry son-of-a-bitch."

"Your asshole of a brother wasn't good enough for Max!" Logan said. He managed to get the courage to stand up. "I was only thinking of Max!"

"Wrong answer," Max said. She shoved him back into his seat.

"I believe it goes something along the lines of 'I'm a selfish bastard,'" Becky corrected Logan.

"I did it for you!" Logan insisted. "I did it for us!"

"Bullshit!" Max said angrily. "You did it for you and that's it! Maybe in some part of your warped mind you were thinking of me, but come on, Logan, how selfish can you get? You are no better than the people you investigate."

"That's not true!" Logan protested.

"You are just so amazingly full of it," Becky said. She continued to glare at Logan, who was looking even more scared. She made a face. "Can you please make an effort not to piss yourself? No, I'm not psychic, I just know the warning signs."

"Oh, and Logan?" Max said. "One more thing. Becky, will you tell Logan how you really got injured?"

"Glad to, Max," Becky said. She leaned forward and looked Logan right in the eyes. "I was chased across the rooftops downtown at about nine-ish last night by our good buddy Special Agent White and in my escape, not only did I have a bullet graze my right arm as I was being chased, but I had no choice but to attempt to jump a too-large gap between two buildings. I missed by an inch or two and I took a ten-story plunge down and you bet I would have died if I hadn't landed purely by luck in a half-full dumpster."

Logan trembled. _Oh crap, she almost...wait a second, **Becky** was almost killed!_ "You were almost killed? But..."

"I think he might be finally growing a brain," Becky said with a chilly smirk as she and Max turned towards the door and Zack walked in.

"What's the matter, Cale?" Zack said. His voice was even colder than his sister's. "You act like you haven't seen anybody come back from the dead before."

"Oh shit," Logan squeaked.

"He acts so high-and-mighty all the time, but when his plans go to hell, he's just a little baby," Zack hissed. He grabbed Logan's right hand a squeezed. He grinned when he heard bones snapping. "Oooh, does that hurt, Cale? Huh?"

"You bastard," Logan said.

"Oh, I'm a bastard?" Zack wondered. "Let's recap what you did." He smacked Logan across the face hard. "You tried to deliver me to the executioner. Hell, I should kill you just for that one. But do you know what your biggest mistake was?" He leaned in close to Logan, who was almost convulsing with fear. "You put my youngest sister in danger. I watched her miss that building ledge and for a few moments, I thought she was dead. Do you have any idea what it was like to watch that?"

"In—case you—" Logan started to say.

"That's right, I did die in your arms that night," Max recalled. "What a waste of a dying moment that was. Good thing I'll get another crack at it eventually."

"And in case you were wondering where I was during your special moment," Zack said. "I was getting shot in the shoulder by my own X7 clone and taken to the infirmary where I saw Maxie flatlining and I took Renfro hostage and demanded that they transplant Max and what did I do, Logan? I was going to sacrifice myself for Max and you can damn well bet that I would have if Brin hadn't stopped me." He smirked. "You know, I really should thank her for that."

"You animal," Logan snapped.

"Hey, Max, do you know where Logan keeps getting this stupidity from?" Becky asked, but her eyes were still on Zack and Logan.

"Beats me," Max said. "I was never able to figure that one out."

"You shouldn't have been sleeping during biology class, Cale," Zack said. He grabbed Logan around the throat, slowly cutting off his oxygen. "You'd know that humans are just extremely advanced primates, and what are primates? Animals. You have as much of an animal side as the three of us. The difference between us is that our side is different than yours and we acknowledge it and accept it. You just deny it."

Logan was really panicking. _Oh crap, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die! Wait a second, I'm wearing the exoskeleton! I just have to jump..._ This thoughts trailed off as he realized in horror that Becky and Max had guessed what he was about to do and yanked the exoskeleton off.

"Don't bother trying to pull something on someone who's been trained to read body language unless you're a much better liar," Becky said, smirking.

"So, you're going to kill me?" Logan said.

Zack looked him right in the eyes. "You're going to kill yourself, Logan." He reached into one of his jeans pockets and pulled out a pair of gloves and put them on before he pulled out his gun. "I really should make you suffer more. But for Max's sake, I'll make this quick for you."

"Come on," Becky said softly to Max. "I don't think you're going to want to watch this."

Max nodded and turned back to Logan. "Good-bye, Logan. I wish it didn't have to come to this." She let Becky lead her out of the penthouse. Max sat down on the floor and started to cry quietly when she heard the gunshot.

Maggie came out from her hiding place and sat down next to Max. "Are you okay?"

"I will be, thanks," Max said.

"That was not fun," Becky said, shaking her head. "As angry as I am, things like that just aren't fun at all."

Zack came out of the apartment. "I left the gun in there with him and his prints are all over it."

"We should make those adjustments to the security cam footage and grab anything we'll need from the penthouse, not to mention get my laptop back," Becky said. She took out a glove from her own pocket and put it on. Maggie took out a pair and did the same.

"Here," Max said. She handed Maggie a piece of paper. "The fake suicide note."

"Thanks," Maggie said. She and Becky went inside the penthouse and Zack sat down next to Max and put an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Maxie," he told her. "I really wish I didn't have to do this. I know how much you still valued Logan's friendship."

"I know," Max said. "I know that this was hard for you too in a way."

"You do what you have to do," Zack said. He shook his head. "Damn Manticore."

"I hate to sound repetitive, but..." Max began.

"He just couldn't take it," Zack said. "He couldn't handle a situation like that. We can handle so much. Logan's never had any seriously hard times to put things into perspective for him. He did lose both of his parents before he was fifteen, but even so. He grew up in luxury. He had everything he ever wanted. He was used to getting everything he ever wanted. Even with Eyes Only in a way, you know? Our lives have been pretty much the opposite of his. We never had much and what we had was often taken away or could be taken away in a heartbeat. We learned to value each other and what we all had in ways Logan never could have if he didn't go what we went through. I was jealous as hell when I figured out that you and Logan had some kind of relationship going last year. I'll admit that I was furious. But I did let you go pursue it when I saw how much that Logan meant to you. I loved you—I still do and I will forever—enough to let you go pursue what I thought at the time that you really wanted. I knew that you would still be in my life or at least I'd have a chance that you'd still be in my life if I let you go."

Max nodded. "You're right."

"Things are going to be okay," Zack promised. "I swear, Maxie."

"I know," Max said. She just leaned against Zack and let him hold her.

TBC


	41. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Max asked Becky a week later as Becky packed some stuff into a bag.

"Yeah," Becky said. "You heard the argument I had with Zack. He thought I should leave Seattle and I didn't think that it was necessary since White most likely thinks that I'm dead. We compromised and I'll leave town but only for a few weeks or a month or two at the most. I'll be back, Max. Hell, I would have already left if I hadn't gone into heat a few days ago."

"I still wish that you weren't leaving Seattle at all," Max said.

"I know," Becky said. "It's not gonna be bad. You've got my cell number if you need anything and besides." She grinned wickedly. "Zack will be coming back in a few days and you'll have my apartment all to yourselves..."

Max flipped Becky off. "We're not up to that stage of our relationship and you know it."

"I know," Becky said. "But it's every little sister's solemn duty to tease about her older sibling's relationship. It's one of those unwritten laws. I'll bet you anything that when you eventually meet up with Krit and Syl again, you won't give Krit a moment's peace about it."

"Speaking of relationships..." Max began.

Becky rolled her eyes. "Geez, Max, for the millionth time, I don't think of Jeff that way. He's only a friend. He is hot, but he's only a friend."

"I got you to admit that he's hot," Max said triumphantly.

"That's nothing," Becky said. "All X-series males are or will be hot when they grow up. Hell, even Alec's hot."

"True," Max conceded. "Personally..."

"Ewww! He's my brother!" Becky protested. "If you want to go there, I can only imagine..."

"Ha, ha, ha," Max said. She rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

"Thank you," Becky said.

"So, what's your agenda for this road trip?" Max asked. "Checking in on your sibs again?"

"That's part of it," Becky agreed. "I already know that Maggie's okay, and I'll check on Kyle and Kevin and Xavier again. I swear, I was gonna kill Kevin when he told me he met up with Kyle in Vegas when Kyle went down there to make some quick cash and that they're sharing that apartment in Reno. But it's only the two of them and I was the one to say no more than three per group when we all split getting away from the fire." She shook her head. "It's not just the fact that there are two of us in one place, I mean, there's you and I and Jeff and Alec and occasionally Zack and Maggie here, but it's Kevin and Kyle."

"I totally know what you mean," Max said. "Having Krit and Zane and Wayne together could drive a person crazy."

"Zane and Wayne?" Becky repeated.

"Yep," Max said. "Wayne said he'd picked his name after he'd heard guards talking about that cowboy guy, but I think he picked it because it rhymed with Zane and he knew that would drive Zane nuts."

"Boys," Becky said, shaking her head.

"What about us?"

Becky jumped and turned around. "Jeff! What are you doing here?"

"Going with you," Jeff said. "Hi, Max."

"Hey, Jeff," Max said.

"Going with me?" Becky repeated. "What about your job?"

"I quit," Jeff said, shrugging. "The boss was an asshole."

"You don't have to come with me," Becky said.

"I don't mind," Jeff said. "I don't have much else to do right now around Seattle. Besides, wouldn't you like company?"

"Okay," Becky admitted. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad to have some company on the road."

"Awesome," Jeff said.

Max grinned. "I guess it is a good thing that your heat's done and over with, huh, Becky?"

Becky glared at Max while Jeff just blushed. "Yeah, it is a good thing." She turned to Jeff. "You set to go?"

"Yeah, my stuff's right here and my bike's chained up outside," Jeff said.

"Great," Becky said. "My bike's in the other room."

"You keep your bike in your apartment?" Jeff said.

"She does, too," Becky said, pointing to Max. "In fact, her old roommate used to use it as a clothesline."

Jeff laughed. "Wow."

"It wasn't funny," Max insisted.

"Sure," Becky said, smirking. She walked into her spare bedroom and walked her motorcycle out. She bent down to pick up her bag. "I guess we should be leaving, then."

"Have a good trip," Max said. "Call if you need anything, okay?"

"I will," Becky promised. She and Jeff left.

TBC


	42. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belongs to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"They need better security. Seriously," Becky said after she and Jeff had gotten back to their motel room the late next night.

"I don't understand why we had to do this at all," Jeff said. "I thought you told me that you and Max 'went to the ATM' the night before we left."

Becky shook her head. "We did, but that was because Max needed the money. I had some with me at the time and that was enough for where we stayed last night and for this room tonight. Besides, Max and I didn't 'go to the ATM' right away. We stopped at the museum to catch that special midnight viewing of that new display first. Then we got the cash and then we grabbed some sushi before we went back to our respective apartments."

"What is it with you and sushi?" Jeff teased.

Becky rolled her eyes. "You know damn well why I'm practically a sushi fanatic, Jeff. Same reason why Max has chicken every chance she gets, not to mention how happy she gets when you put a chicken and anchovy pizza in front of her."

"Chicken and anchovies?" Jeff repeated as they went inside. He made a face. "I know our respective heritages and all that, but isn't that a little much to have both on a pizza at the same time?"

"It's good," Becky insisted. "Don't knock it 'till you try it."

"I'll just take your word for it for now," Jeff said.

"Good," Becky said.

"So, where's our next stop?" Jeff asked. "Do you want to stop in on your brothers first?"

"In a few days, I think," Becky said. "Let's just ride around for a few days then I guess I'll stop in on whoever happens to be closest to me." She shrugged. "You don't have to stay with me the whole time, you know. If you want to go off and do your own thing for awhile or whatever, I don't mind."

"Maybe," Jeff said. "Right now, though, I'd like to stick around with you."

"It's not that I mind your company," Becky said. "I really don't. I like your company, I..."

"It's cool," Jeff said, grinning.

They took off the backpacks they had been wearing and opened them. Becky took some equipment out of hers while Jeff took out a pile of bills. "How much did we get?" Becky asked.

"At least a couple of thousand," Jeff said. "There are some large bills in here." They waited for a moment while Jeff finished counting the money. "Yep, we got about fifty grand here."

"Nice," Becky said. "I wish we could have taken more, but it's not like we could have left our gear behind."

"I know," Jeff said. "That was fun."

Becky smirked. "You would enjoy breaking into a bank's vault. Max would, too."

"Like you didn't have fun grabbing that money," Jeff said.

"Okay, maybe I did have a little fun," Becky said.

"Now, what are we going to do with all this money...?" Jeff said.

"Sushi?" Becky teased.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

"Thanks," Becky said. She sat down on her bed and took off her jacket. "This should keep us fed for a few weeks at least."

"Either that or it should give us each a full tank of gas for our bikes," Jeff said. "The prices around here are worse than they are in Seattle."

"Tell me about it," Becky said.

"I want to check up on Ralph while we're on the road," Jeff said. "Probably within the next week or so."

Becky tried to recall what Jeff had told her earlier. "Ralph is...312?"

"No, 334," Jeff said.

"Not my fault she chose a boy's name," Becky said.

"Not mine, either," Jeff said.

"I know," Becky said. "I think I need to get my two hours now."

"You and me both," Jeff said. "It's amazing how breaking into a vault can take it right out of you."

"That game of Capture the Flag that they had our units play against each other a few days before the fire was harder than the bank and you weren't even breathing heavy after that one," Becky teased.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jeff said. Becky laughed.

"Sorry," she said. "You wanna go get some food before we get some sleep?"

"At two in the morning?" Jeff said. "We're not exactly in Seattle, Becky. I seriously doubt that we're gonna find a place that's gonna be open now around here and according to the map that we were looking at this afternoon, the next thing that even resembles a decent town is at least another thirty or forty miles away. I seriously doubt that there's gonna be some place open there."

"You must be tired if you don't want to ride into that town to see if we can get food," Becky said.

"I am," Jeff said.

"I guess food will wait until the complimentary Continental breakfast in the morning," Becky said. She shrugged.

"Sorry," Jeff said.

"It's okay," Becky said. "Like I said, I'm kind of tired myself. I should just get my butt into bed."

"You do that," Jeff muttered.

Becky grinned when she looked over and saw that Jeff had fallen asleep in his clothes. "Good night to you too, Jeff."

TBC


	43. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belongs to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Maybe something vaguely spoiler-ish for the pilot.

"Your boy's out of town, Becky's out of town for at least a few weeks," Original Cindy said as she put her stuff away in her locker. "It's gonna seem like it's dull as hell around here for you."

"Maybe," Max said. She heard loud laughter and glanced over to where Sketchy and some of the others were laughing at a rude joke that Alec had just told. "Maybe not."

"It's never dull with Sketchy around," Original Cindy admitted. "Gotta admit that much."

"Not to mention the King of the Smart Asses over there," Max said. She shook her head. "It's amazing how two people who are genetically identical can be so damn different. Ben was such a sweet guy, at least he was when we were kids and I want to believe that he remained that way deep down despite everything, and Alec can be the most irritating guy on the planet. Not that Ben was a complete saint when we were kids, especially when he and Zack were around each other, but..."

"It could be worse," Original Cindy reminded her.

"I guess so," Max said.

"Max! Cindy! You've got to hear this story of Alec's," Sketchy said, grinning.

"Maybe another time," Max said.

"You fools gonna be at Crash tonight?" Cindy asked.

"Of course," Sketchy said. "Where else would we be?"

"I hear there's this new club down on Fifth Street..." Alec began to say.

Max rolled her eyes. "That's a strip club, you moron."

"And how would you know, Max?" Alec said. He smirked.

"Because you were talking your head off about it about a week-and-a-half ago," Max pointed out. "Do you remember that, or did the hit upside the head that Becky gave you wipe your memory of that moment in time?"

"Too bad Becky screwed up her shoulder pulling that stunt on her motorcycle," Sketchy said.

Original Cindy rolled her eyes. "For the last time, fool, she's underage and she won't be eighteen until the end of October. Even then, you wouldn't have a chance."

"Why? Does she have a boyfriend?" Sketchy asked.

"Not yet," Max said. "But she's got a very protective older brother and if he finds out that you've got the hots for her, he's gonna start with...hmmm, what body parts would he remove first?"

Sketchy got a little pale while Original Cindy and Alec both tried not to laugh. "Oh, um, I didn't know Becky had a brother. How did you know?"

"Becky and I went to the same elementary school, remember?" Max reminded him.

"Why haven't we met Becky's brother yet?" Alec said, grinning.

Max glared at him. "Because he's busy at his own job, Alec. There are other occupations besides bike messenger. Not many, but there are."

"Okay, okay, let's just chill," Original Cindy said. "The last we want is for Normal to come in to try to break up a fight."

"That'd be amusing," Alec remarked.

"Packages need to be delivered," Normal reminded them. "That's why I'm paying you people."

"Relax, we'll get to 'em in a minute," Original Cindy said.

"That's what they say all the time," Normal muttered.

"Speaking of boyfriends," Sketchy said. "How about you, Max? Dating again?"

Original Cindy smacked him again. "Fool, it's only been a week-and-a-half since her ex-boyfriend committed suicide."

"How about you, Alec?" Max asked. "You dating yet?"

Alec shook his head and Max could have sworn she saw a look of pain in his eyes for a second. "Nope. I'm a strapping young man and this city is full of beautiful women. Why should I be dating just one?"

"My thoughts exactly," Sketchy said.

"Let me guess: is that what you said to Natalie when you broke up with her last year?" Max said.

"Natalie and I broke up because we felt that our lives were going in different directions," Sketchy said.

"Yep, that's what you said," Max said.

"It was not," Sketchy said. "She wanted to have kids the second we got married and I am so far from an immediate desire for children that it's nowhere close to funny. I just happened to come to the same conclusion that Alec just mentioned after Natalie and I split."

"Excuse me?" Normal said. "Remember the packages? I've got a hot run to sector seven. Several packages so two of you can go on this run."

"Do we each get paid for one run or do we have to split it?" Alec asked.

"Depends on how quickly you slackers get the run done," Normal replied.

"I'll go," Alec said.

"Max, why don't you go with him," Normal said.

"Why me?" Max muttered.

"Cheer up, boo," Original Cindy said.

"I will," Max said.

"If you get through this run without giving him a black eye or split lip, the first round at Crash tonight is on me," Original Cindy said.

Max grinned. "You're on. And if you lose, the first round is on Alec."

"Hey!" Alec said.

"You're definitely on," Original Cindy said. "I'll see you guys later."

"Same here," Max said. She grabbed her bike and one of the packages from Normal. "You coming, Alec?"

"I am," Alec said. He took the other package and they went out.

"All you have to do is keep your mouth shut and you won't be paying for the first round tonight," Max pointed out as they rode.

"I know," Alec said.

"Then why the long face?" Max said. "You out of money or something?"

"Yeah, though I suppose I could hit that museum if I needed the cash," Alec said.

Max laughed. "The early bird gets the worm, Alec. Becky and I hit that place the day before she hit the road."

"Damn," Alec said.

"Hey, all we have to do is to not kill each other and then you won't have to worry about it," Max said.

"True," Alec said. He gave her a cheeky grin. "Hey, maybe you'll finally realize that I'm not such a bad guy after all."

Max sighed. "Don't push your luck."

TBC


	44. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belongs to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Another town," Becky remarked as she and Jeff wandered through Madison, Wisconsin.

"Oh, come on," Jeff teased. "Don't tell me they're all starting to blend together already. Besides, Madison is a city. You do know the difference, don't you?"

Becky made a face but laughed a little. "Yeah, I do."

"As far as cities hit by the pulse, this place isn't too bad," Jeff said, looking around. "Either that or this city has done a better job about cleaning itself up than Seattle has done so far."

"I know what you mean," Becky agreed.

"I like Seattle, though," Jeff said. "It feels comfortable in a way."

Becky smiled. "Only one of us would find Seattle comfortable."

"Not necessarily," Jeff said. "Anybody who's lived somewhere that's rougher than Seattle could conceivably find Seattle to be a comfortable city."

"You do realize that you sound like a know-it-all," Becky said.

"I know," Jeff said.

"You do have a point, though," Becky admitted.

"What do you think of this one so far?" Jeff asked.

"It's not bad," Becky said. "It's not as big as Seattle and I don't have to be worrying about sector passes and do I have one and crap like that. That's a plus right there."

"Very true," Jeff said. "I—" He paused suddenly and sniffed.

"Jeff? What's going on?" Becky asked, alert.

"I smell—" Jeff suddenly took off running.

"I don't smell a damn thing," Becky said. She shook her head and went off after Jeff. _He really should be more careful about running so fast. It's like he's not using his brain..._ Becky's eyes widened and she moved quicker in Jeff's direction. _Oh, crap. This is not what I need right now!_ A moment later, she could hear a woman giggling in an alley and recognized the voice. _Which one is she?_ Becky got to the alley and saw Jeff practically mauling a young woman slightly older than Max. She raced up to Jeff, pulled him off of the woman, and punched him hard. "Unless you feel like knocking up an X5, get the hell out of here right now!"

"What the hell—" Jeff took a look at the woman and his eyes widened. "Shit!" He ran out of the alley.

"How did you know I was an X5?" the woman asked suspiciously.

_It's Max and Zack's sister._ "I've met your twin before," Becky said. "You must be 120."

"I prefer to be called Rena," the X5 said. "Have we met before?"

"X6-405. I prefer to be called Becky," Becky said.

"Gillette before my brothers and sisters and I escaped," Rena recalled. She squirmed around uncomfortably.

"Being in heat sucks, doesn't it?" Becky said.

"So much," Rena agreed. "It's been eleven years since my first one and it never gets easier. Thanks for the save. I can't believe I almost got it on with an X6."

"Not into younger or shorter guys?" Becky teased.

Rena snorted. "I can't help it if I'm six-one. Blame the moron who decided to use what was probably the DNA from some pre-pulse pro basketball star in me." She shook her head. "I got take the world's coldest shower right now. I just need to be able to get through the rest of today without jumping a guy and I'll be okay for the next three months. You know, that X6--"

"His name is Jeff and don't touch him," Becky said automatically.

"Why, is he your boyfriend?" Rena said.

"For crying out loud, why does everybody think that Jeff's either my boyfriend or that we like each other as something other than friends?" Becky said. "I seriously get plenty of that from—back home."

"You live in Seattle?" Rena said. "Why did you stay that close to where the place burnt down?"

"For now, anyway," Becky said. "I felt like it was as good as place as any to stay at least for that night and I decided to stay there for longer."

"Oh," Rena said.

"Are you okay?" Becky asked.

"I think I will be," Rena said. She grinned. "Are you sure that boy Jeff isn't your boyfriend?"

_Max said that Rena was one of her best friends back at Manticore and I can see why that was true._ "I'm sure."

"I should get back to my apartment and pray to everything holy that my big brother doesn't decide that today's the day that he's gonna check up on me," Rena said.

_Thank goodness that Zack's in Mississippi right now!_ "That sounds like a plan. Do you live far from here?"

"No, just two blocks that way," Rena said, pointing. "I'll be okay getting there. Thanks again, Becky."

"It was no problem," Becky said. "It was nice meeting you." She walked out of the alley and pulled out her cell phone and dialed Jeff's number. "Hey. Where did you go?"

"I'm halfway back to the motel," Jeff said. "I'm in a fast food place about ten blocks from the alley back in that direction."

"Cool. I'll be over there in a sec," Becky said.

"I can't believe that I almost banged 121," Jeff said. "I hate that woman."

"You can relax," Becky said. "That wasn't 121. That was her twin."

"120? Isn't she one of Zack and Max's sisters?" Jeff said.

"That's the one," Becky said.

"Oh," Jeff said. "That was still close. I'm so glad it wasn't 121." He paused. "Wait a second, of course it couldn't have been 121. She'd been successful in the breeding program, for crying out loud. She wouldn't be going into heat at all for the next however many months she's got left with her pregnancy."

"True enough," Becky remarked. "What's the big deal with 121, anyway? You can kick her ass under normal circumstances."

"I know that," Jeff said. "It doesn't mean that I like her any more than I do. That woman has a chip on her shoulder that's bigger than 224's ego. She's not nearly as bad as some of her teammates, but it sure was enough to scare the daylights out of me at times."

"I remember," Becky said.

"Remember the time when you were in Seattle because of the mission that you and Riley went on when we were sixteen and you guys were back for the weekend and 121 went crazy on that other girl in her unit?" Jeff asked.

"Oh yeah," Becky said. "786 was the other girl. She tried to slap me after the fight was over for no reason. Why did she and 121 get into that fight?"

"Apparently 121 did something to piss off 786 earlier that day and decided to rub it in 786's face when they were crossing the courtyard with their unit," Jeff recalled. "786 blew her off and 121 got annoyed and it just went from there. It took Alec and his second in command a couple of minutes to break them apart."

"We take catfights to the next level," Becky remarked. "That was something else." She looked up and saw that she was in front of the restaurant, so she disconnected her phone and went inside and saw Jeff sitting at a table and sat down across from him. "So, what do you think of Madison now?"

"Nice place to visit, but we can leave at any time," Jeff said. Becky just shook her head and laughed.

TBC


	45. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"You have to be the luckiest guy on the planet," Original Cindy said to Alec as they and Max and Sketchy sat at a table at Crash a few weeks later. "You've got Normal eating out of the palm of your hand."

Alec grinned. "I'm the best."

"You wish," Max said.

"What's the matter, Max?" Alec said. "Are you still upset because I beat you at pool tonight?"

"No," Max said. "I've just been having a supremely bad day today. I'm thinking that there's some kind of eclipse, a full moon, and the planets are aligned. Well, at least that's the reason why you beat me at pool. As for the rest of my day, who knows?"

"What went wrong?" Sketchy asked.

"Everything," Max said. "Got up this morning and we're out of coffee. I know, it wasn't your fault O.C., we both forgot to get more yesterday. I absolutely need my coffee in the morning. Grab my bike and start to go to work and some moron tries to mug me. The only good thing about that is that he'll be having trouble walking for at least a few days." _Like Becky said, when you can't do anything fancy, go for old number one!_

"Ouch," Sketchy said. He and Alec both winced.

"Got to work and you all saw how Normal was pissier than usual," Max said. "Got a flat tire on my first run, almost got groped by a janitor while I was making the delivery on my second run, and I fell trying to do that trick that Normal's Golden Boy here dared me to do when we were on our lunch. It should have been easy for me, but like I said, everything's aligned upstairs so I falling on my ass after five seconds. I had a few more crappy runs after lunch and then I go back to my place hoping to have a nice hot bath but the heater crapped out for the millionth time and...damn, this is not my day."

"Why don't you look for someone to cheer you up?" Alec teased. "There's that nice guy over at the bar. The short guy who's about twenty or so pounds overweight with the acne scars..."

"Not my type," Max said, rolling her eyes. _My type is six feet tall, blond, blue-eyed, gorgeous as hell, and will be back in town within two weeks. That reminds me, should I get something for his birthday next week? I don't think Zack would be into presents, but I feel like I should get him something._

"How about you watch me whip Pretty Boy's ass at pool," Original Cindy said. "Would that cheer you up?"

"That would definitely be a start," Max agreed.

"You're on," Alec said. "I am the pool table master."

"In your dreams," Original Cindy said. "My older brother taught me how to play when I was a kid and I've been playing ever since. Eight Ball?"

"Works for me," Alec said. They got up and went to an empty pool table. He and Original Cindy grabbed cues and Max racked up the balls for them. "Wanna make this a good one?"

"How much?"

"Fifty bucks," Alec said.

"And?" Original Cindy said. "You said you wanted to make this a good one."

"The loser also has to do the winner's laundry for a week," Alec said.

"That's all?" Sketchy said. "That's fifth grade stuff."

"Yeah, but do you know how hard it is to clean this stuff?" Original Cindy said, gesturing to the outfit that she was wearing. "Delicate cycle and line dry and all that. This bitch is on."

"This should be good," Max said to Sketchy as they watched Original Cindy and Alec.

"Yeah," Sketchy said. "They're both really good. Do you know how many games I lost to both of them last week?"

"I lost count after ten," Max teased.

Sketchy smiled. "Okay, so I'm not the greatest pool player in the world. I'm way better at poker than I am at pool."

"You are," Max admitted. "You almost beat me when we all played at lunch a few days ago."

"You got so lucky," Sketchy said. "I can't believe you managed to get a royal flush."

"Luck of the draw, Sketch," Max said.

"Damn!" Original Cindy swore.

"I win," Alec said triumphantly. "I'll be dropping off my first load of laundry tomorrow. Plus, I believe that you owe me..."

"Yeah, I know," Original Cindy said. She reached into her pocket and handed Alec some money. "Here's your fifty."

"Anybody want another round?" Alec asked.

"Of pool or beer?" Max said.

"Either one," Alec said.

"I'm good on both," Max said. "I should probably be getting back to my crib."

"I need my beauty sleep," Original Cindy said.

"I'm in the mood for some more pool," Alec said. "You wanna play, Sketchy?"

"Sure," Sketchy said. "I think I can beat you tonight."

"We'll be seeing you guys at work tomorrow," Max said. She and Original Cindy went back to their table, grabbed their jackets, and left Crash. "You know, I am in a better mood now."

"Good," Original Cindy said.

"Sorry that you lost to Alec at pool tonight," Max said.

"It's cool," Original Cindy said. "You hear from Becky or your boy?"

"Yeah, I did. Zack's gonna be back in Seattle in two weeks at the latest and Becky said that she'd probably be back not too long after that," Max said.

"What about Becky's boy?" Original Cindy asked.

Max grinned. "Jeff's fine and Becky's still denying that she has feelings for him. One of these days, she'll get around to admitting them."

"Think she'll take as long as her brother did with you?" Original Cindy asked.

"I don't know," Max said. "Somehow, I don't think so. I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. I don't want to force her, though. That'll just make things blow up in everyone's faces."

"Good call," Original Cindy said.

"Yeah," Max agreed. "We'll just see."

TBC


	46. Chapter 42a

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Spoiler-ish stuff for "Hit A Sista Back", "Meow", and "...And Jesus Brought A Casserole."

Brin couldn't sleep. She knew she should get as much sleep as she possibly could, especially considering that she was pregnant, but she just couldn't.

_I hate insomnia. I don't know how Max and Jondy could get through a day with being grouchy the whole time. They're lucky as hell. Oh, screw this._

She got up out of bed and walked over to the living room and sat down on her couch and turned on her TV. _Nothing's on. Should you really be surprised that nothing's on? It's close to midnight, for crying out loud. Nobody's interested in watching TV at this time of night. They're all either sleeping or causing some kind of mayhem._

She turned the TV off and went back into the bedroom and stood in front of the window. _You know what? Screw it. I think I'll go for a walk. It's a nice night outside._ She smiled to herself and threw on some clothes and grabbed her jacket and went outside and walked around.

_This is a nice town. It's so pretty here. Maybe it's because it's as close to the Atlantic Ocean as it is. I love looking out onto the ocean. It's almost cathartic. I could be having the worst day in the world and I could just stare out at the ocean and it calms me down almost right away._ Brin looked down for a moment. _Kind of like the way Tinga used to do when we were kids._

Brin turned and started walking in another direction. _What did I do to my sister? I handed her over to Renfro! How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I see that Renfro would have been up to no good? I got my oldest sister killed! All I wanted was to have my family back with me, and I ended up destroying part of it!_

She walked into a coffee shop that was still open and sat down at a table and ordered a cup of decaf and drank it quietly, still completely lost in her train of thought. _If that wasn't enough, what did I do after that? I almost killed Max!_ Brin wiped a tear away and sighed. _I thought I was doing the right thing. I just saw Zack standing there in the infirmary about to shoot himself. I didn't see who it was on the operating table he was in front of. Zack was blocking my view of the person. I just didn't want my big brother to die! I couldn't let him die. Then after I shot him and they sedated him and took him off to be treated, I saw Maxie...if that one X5 hadn't been killed on the mission that he'd gone the day before, Maxie would have died. I would have saved Zack's life, but I would have killed my youngest sister in the process._

Brin got up and paid for her coffee and walked back outside. _I guess it figures that I'm out on my own without even the security of having the contact number and knowing that Zack's only a phone call away if I'm in trouble. Hell, I don't even know if Zack made it out of the fire that night back in June. What the hell am I thinking, of course Zack made it out of the fire! He's Zack. Max probably made it out, too. They could do anything that they wanted to._ She laughed bitterly to herself. _They can do anything, but yet Max couldn't convince me to go back with her when she and Zack and Krit and Syl blew the DNA lab. I was so damn stupid. I should have gone with her. Whoever said that hindsight is 20-20 is right...and then should be taken outside and shot by a firing squad._

She stopped at an intersection and waited for the light to change so she could cross the street. She glanced over at a store window and saw baby clothes on display and smiled to herself. _Whatever happens, I'm still glad I've got this kid coming in February. I don't know where I'll be or if it's a boy or a girl or anything, but I'm glad I won't be alone. I'm not completely thrilled about how my kid was conceived, but I can't really do anything about that. I just can't believe that they paired me with that guy. I guess even though I'd worked with Renfro several times and she knew I was loyal to Manticore again, she still didn't want to take a chance that I would refuse to participate in the breeding program. I guess she thought it'd be easier for me if she paired me with Ben's twin. I wonder what happened with him after they confirmed that I was pregnant? Did they keep him in the breeding program and give him a new partner or did they just take him out of the program?_ Her eyes widened and she didn't know whether to scream or laugh. _If Renfro most likely assigned 494 to me because he's Ben's twin, did she or at least try to pair him with Max? I hadn't seen Max around at all around Manticore after she and the others blew the DNA lab and I assumed after we'd all been told what had happened that she was still in Psy Ops. Maybe they decided they needed all the available females to participate that they could. Who knows? I'll probably never find that one out._

Brin crossed the street and walked towards the local park. _I miss her so much. I miss Max and I miss Zack and all my other siblings. I wish I could see them again. I wish I could tell Max and Zack how sorry I am for everything. I miss them all so much._ She found a bench and lay down on it and stared up at the stars. _I want to see them all again. I want to see them all and I was for us to be one big happy family. Me and my child and all his or her aunts and uncles. I want for my baby to be healthy and happy and to grow up somewhat normally. Please don't let that be too much to ask for!_ She closed her eyes and dozed off.

TBC


	47. Chapter 42b

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** I guess more spoiler-ish stuff for "Hit A Sista Back" and "...And Jesus Brought A Casserole."

Becky chained her motorcycle up and started walking around. _This town is really nice. It's too bad Jeff isn't here right now. It sucked that his brother almost got caught by some soldiers, but it was a good thing that Jeff and I were as close by as we were. Jeff said he'd call me when he'd gotten him settled into somewhere new and that he'd meet me wherever I'd be. I can't wait. And it's not because I have more-than-friendly-feelings for him! No way. Like I've said before, every guy that was made in Manticore is hot. The fact that Jeff happens to be even hotter than most of them does not mean that I have those feelings for him!_

"Somebody's having deep thoughts tonight," a voice said from behind her.

Becky jumped and turned around. She grinned. "Zack! You're here."

"I got the message you left on my voice mail," Zack said. "Are you gonna stick around here for a few days?"

"I don't know," Becky said. "I only got here a few hours ago. It's really nice here, though. It's kind of chilly, but I guess that's because we're as close to the ocean as we are. Oh! That reminds me." She took off her backpack and opened it up. "I know your birthday's coming up in a few days and I don't know if we're gonna be in the same city then so I'll give you your present now."

"Becky, you know I'm not the present type," Zack said.

"I know," Becky said. "But I think that this is one present that you won't have too much of a problem receiving or using." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a brand new automatic weapon and some clips for it and handed them to Zack. "Happy birthday, big brother."

Zack grinned. "This is the model I like. It looks brand new."

"It is," Becky said. "I first found it on the black market back in Seattle when I was looking for something for myself and I found it again back in Chicago when Jeff and I were passing through there, so I got it for you. I'm glad you like it."

"I do," Zack said. "It's a beauty." He tucked the weapon into the waistband of his jeans and shoved the clips into his pockets and adjusted his leather jacket. "Speaking of Jeff, where's he right now?"

"Resettling one of his brothers," Becky said. "He got a call from his brother 437, who's going by Vance these days, yesterday morning. Fortunately, we weren't too far out and we helped him and Jeff's getting him set up someplace else. He's going to meet me wherever I decide to go next."

"Okay," Zack said. "When are you going to head back to Seattle?"

"Maybe in a few days," Becky said. "I might stick around here for a little while like I said and then I think I'll take the long way back to Seattle. I was thinking about heading south down the coast until I get to Georgia and then going straight west and then going straight up the west coast when I reach California. Maybe I'll ask Jeff to meet me in Alabama and then we could head back together from there. I don't know exactly what I'm gonna do yet, but that seems like as good a plan as I can come up with right now."

"Sounds good," Zack said.

"What about you?" Becky asked. "When are you getting back to Seattle?"

"I think in a day or two," Zack said. "I might stick around here, but not as long as you probably will. I'll probably also take a quicker route to Seattle."

Becky smiled. "She's just as anxious to see you as you are to see her."

"I know," Zack said. "I miss her so much."

"I know you do," Becky said. "You guys are really lucky to have each other."

Zack nodded. "We sure are."

"This is a pretty park," Becky said. "We're pretty much by ourselves, too. Just us and..." She zoomed in and saw only someone lying down on a bench a few yards in front of them. Becky's eyes widened in surprise. "Zack. There's a young woman on the bench a bit in front of us. Take a look."

"All right," Zack said. He zoomed in and almost gasped in surprise. "Brin."

"Wow," Becky said.

"She looks like she's sleeping. I don't want to wake her up," Zack said. "Is she pregnant? She looks like she might be."

"It's definitely possible," Becky said. "She most likely participated in the breeding program."

"Thank goodness they never made me participate," Zack muttered.

Becky grinned. "Yeah. Though how much do you want to bet that they would have hooked you up with Max? You had an opportunity wasted, Zack."

Zack gave Becky a Look. "Very funny." He turned his attention back to Brin. "Thank goodness she's okay. She looks okay, anyway."

"She most likely is," Becky said.

Zack nodded and suddenly he and Becky looked up and ducked behind a nearby bush and zoomed in on somebody approaching them and Brin. "Not good and not going to happen."

* * *

The young soldier walked around the park, bored out of his mind. _I'm supposed to be looking for any transgenics, but that could be looking for a needle in a haystack! Come on, wouldn't they be in a big city where there's more people so it'd be easier to blend in? What are the morons in command thinking, do they want to search every single small town in America? Give me a break._

He turned around and saw a young Asian woman sleeping on a bench and grinned. _Look what we got here! Damn, that girl's a babe. Looks like she might be a few months pregnant, but I don't care. I've done fat chicks before and my brother said he and his wife had sex when his wife was pregnant and it didn't seem to have hurt my niece any, so what the hell! It's been way too long since I've gotten any._

He walked up to the bench and looked down on Brin. _She's even more beautiful up close! Should I wake her up first or should I get right down to business?_

* * *

Brin woke up when she heard someone walking up to her, but kept her eyes closed. _Oh no. Please just let it be some random homeless person or someone harmless. This isn't what I need right now!_

She opened her eyes a crack and saw the young soldier leering over her. _No! He's not going to do what I think he's going to do! He better not do what I think he's gonna do! What am I gonna do? I don't want to risk hurting my baby._ Brin fully closed her eyes again and tried not to cry. _I'm paying for it now. I really am._ She thought she heard something, but dismissed it. _I'm hallucinating hearing a transgenic move. I'm so desperate for help that I'm hallucinating._

* * *

Zack narrowed his eyes and turned to Becky and signaled to her. Becky nodded and quietly took out her gun while Zack blurred almost noiselessly behind the soldier that was trying to sneak up on Brin. _This is not happening in your lifetime, asshole._

* * *

The soldier grinned and took the guns out of his holsters and moved to take off his clothes. _This is gonna be the best one of my life! I just know it! I—_

* * *

Brin tensed. _Maybe if I can grab his throat and strangle him before he can do anything to me or the baby. It's my only chance._ She blinked in surprise when she heard the sound of an elbow connecting with the back of a head and someone falling to the ground. She sat up and turned around and saw Zack standing over the now unconscious soldier. "Zack?"

"It's me, little sister," Zack said.

"What are you doing here?" Brin asked.

"I was checking on someone else," Zack said. He motioned for Becky to come out of her hiding place.

"One of the others is here?" Brin asked. "Who?"

"Not one of our family," Zack said. "Well, technically she's my family and I'll explain later."

"Who?" Brin asked.

"Me," Becky said.

Brin recognized Becky quickly. "405? You and Zack are related?"

"Brother and sister," Becky said. "My name is Becky."

"Mine is Brin," Brin said.

"Do you have anything in your apartment that's crucial?" Zack asked.

"No," Brin said. "I'm not strapped right now and there's nothing—" She paused as the soldier's walkie-talkie came to life.

"Corporal Wilkins, where the hell are you?" a male voice said. "The commander got new orders from that NSA prick who's in charge of the deal." Becky and Zack both looked alarmed. "You need to get back to base for a briefing before you get back on your rounds."

Zack made a motion and started to leave. Becky held up a finger and quickly bent down and found the soldier's wallet and grabbed the money and credit cards out of it and took the soldier's guns and handed them to Zack, who gave one to Brin. She made a few more gestures. _It'll be less suspicious if it looks like a plain old mugging and robbery._

Zack nodded and they ran away from the park and towards Zack's motorcycle. Zack made another motion and Brin and Becky ran to a car parked on the side of the road. Brin broke into the driver's seat and let Becky in and quickly hotwired the car and followed Zack. They drove for awhile until they got to a motel several miles out of town. Zack got them a room and they went inside and sat down on the two beds. "That was a little closer than I thought it was going to be." He turned to Brin. "Are you okay?"

"I am," Brin said.

Becky looked at them and knew that they needed time alone. "I'm gonna go back into town and retrieve my bike. I won't be too long."

"Take your time," Zack said.

"I will," Becky said. She left.

"It's been awhile," Brin said.

"It has," Zack agreed.

Brin burst into tears. "Zack, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. I screwed us over so badly. I didn't know. I didn't know anything."

"It's okay," Zack said. He hugged Brin.

"All I wanted was to have my family back with me," Brin sobbed. "Renfro knew that so she gave me—gave me the orders to bring Tinga to that place in Seattle. She told me that Tinga needed some special testing done before she could be returned to Manticore. I believed her. I didn't know what she wanted to do with Tinga. I swear I didn't have a clue, Zack! I never would hurt Tinga. Never."

"I know," Zack said. He'd remembered seeing Brin when Tinga had turned herself in and had figured that Renfro had tricked her somehow. "That bitch Renfro could manipulate anybody. She had me thinking that Max was dead and she convinced Max for awhile that I'd succeeded in sacrificing myself."

Brin cried harder. "I had no idea that it was Maxie on that operating table. I swear. I just thought that you were going to kill yourself and I couldn't let you die. I could have killed Max."

"You weren't the one that almost killed Max," Zack said. "The X7 clone of hers was the one that fired the bullet that almost killed her. Not you. You were only trying to save me. I should be thanking you because both Max and I are alive and well." He looked at Brin and knew exactly what she was going to say next. "Max doesn't hate you. She always believed that you were never completely turned. She never lost faith in you. That's what families do, Brin. They love you no matter what. They never lose faith in you."

Brin nodded. "I know. You're right."

"Speaking of families," Zack said. "Are you pregnant?"

"Yes," Brin said. "Did you know about the breeding program that Renfro started a few weeks after you guys blew the DNA lab up and everything was moved to Seattle?"

"I know about it," Zack said. "I'm just grateful they didn't make me participate in it. That's how you got pregnant?"

"Yeah," Brin said. "They started the program in the first full week of April, I think. I got put into it almost a month later and I got pregnant pretty quickly after that. The baby's due in February."

"Becky told me before the fire that they were trying to force Max into the program," Zack recalled. "Max wouldn't let the guy touch her, though. Who's the father? Is it someone we knew from before we escaped?"

"No, but you're close in a way," Brin said. "His designation was 494. I guess he's Ben's twin or something. I guess they didn't want to take too much of a chance with me and figured that I'd be more willing if it was someone who at least looked familiar to me. Once he got me pregnant, he didn't come by my cell anymore."

Zack didn't know how to react. _Alec was Brin's breeding partner before Renfro assigned him to be Max's? That bitch was sick._ "That's interesting. They reassigned him to Max apparently a few days or so before the fire."

"Did Max leave him intact?" Brin asked.

"Just a big bruise on his chest and a threat of worse," Zack said. "I've seen him around, actually. His name is Alec. Max named him."

"He was a smart alec," Brin agreed. "I just hope the baby doesn't get that from him." They paused when they heard a motorcycle approaching and sure enough, Becky came back into the room a minute or two later.

"I'm back," Becky said. She threw her duffel bag and backpack down on the floor and sat down in a chair and looked at Zack and Brin. "What's our next move?"

"We'll stay here for the night and get some sleep," Zack said. "In the morning, we'll go find a van big enough for our motorcycles and then we'll move out."

"Where do you want to go?" Brin asked.

Zack thought for a moment before he answered her. "We're going back to Seattle."

TBC


	48. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** More slight spoiler-ish stuff from "Hit A Sista Back" and "...And Jesus Brought A Casserole."

Max was getting anxious as she sat by herself in her apartment two days later. _Come on, Zack! When are you getting back into town? Chill out, Max. You know that he wants to see you just as badly as you want to see him. He'll be in the city before you can blink. Don't worry about it!_

There was a knock at the door. Max started to grin, but stopped. _Who can that be? Zack never knocks at the door._ She got up and walked over. "Who's there?"

"It's me," a voice said quietly.

Max's jaw dropped and she flung the door open and saw Brin standing in front of her. "Brin! You're okay. I can't believe it."

"It's been a while, Maxie," Brin said.

"Come in," Max said. She let Brin inside and shut the door behind her and gave her a big hug. "Oh my God, Brin, I'm so glad that you're doing okay! What are you doing here in Seattle? How did you know where I live?"

"I ran into Zack again in the town I was living in out in Maryland," Brin said. "I was by myself in a park and a soldier wanted to have his way with me and it was by pure dumb luck that Zack happened to be in the same town to check on that girl Becky who I had no idea before that she was his biological sister. Zack knocked him out and then it turned out that the soldier was I guess part of whatever operation's going on to hunt us all down so the three of us split and we headed straight here. Zack and Becky knew that you and I need to talk things over so they dropped me off here."

"Wow," Max said. "I still can't believe that you're here."

"Me neither," Brin agreed. She took a deep breath. "Maxie, I'm so sorry for everything I did after I went back to Manticore. I am so sorry that I tried to stop you from getting away when you and Tinga and Zack got Tinga's family out of Portland and I'm so sorry for bringing Tinga to Renfro and I'm so sorry I tried to stop you from blowing up the DNA lab and I...I'm sorry I almost killed you." Brin burst into tears again.

"Brin, it's okay," Max said. "I never blamed you for anything. I knew that you were brainwashed and being manipulated by Manticore and especially Renfro. You have nothing to be sorry for. Absolutely nothing."

"I can't believe I let them mislead me," Brin said. "I'm kicking myself for letting them brainwash me the way that they did."

"Brin, you were so sick," Max said. "You were dying. It was easy for them to manipulate and brainwash you in the state that you were in when they took you back."

Brin shook her head. "You didn't let them manipulate you and you actually were technically dead for a minute or two. Says a lot about me, doesn't it?"

"No, it says nothing bad about you," Max said. "My situation was a little different than yours. They didn't have the time to do a more thorough job of brainwashing me right after my surgery like they did with you what with the DNA lab blowing and them having to consolidate the facilities." She smiled a little. "If it makes you feel better, they did trick me into thinking that Zack had sacrificed himself for me. If Becky hadn't overheard that guard and the doctor talking in the infirmary, I don't know when or if I would have found out the truth."

"But you still never gave your loyalty to Manticore," Brin said.

"I'm willing to bet that deep down where it matters that you were never loyal to Manticore, even after they brainwashed you and put you in Psy Ops after they treated you for the progeria," Max said. "I know you too well, Brin."

Brin nodded. "I still wanted you guys back with me. That's why I did what I did. I missed you guys so much."

"One of these days, we'll all be together again," Max said. "I promise. We're family and we were meant to be a family." She grinned. "Speaking of families, it looks like you're starting your own."

"I sure am," Brin said, grinning herself. "You can give whatever other thank yous you have to the breeding program and my breeding partner. I got put into the program a few weeks after they started it and my baby's due in February." She fidgeted a little. _I should just go right out and tell her._ "494...I mean, Alec was my breeding partner before they apparently re-assigned him to you. He's the father of my baby."

Max's jaw dropped. "You've got to be shitting me, Brin. Alec is the father! Holy crap, Renfro was even more of a twisted bitch than I thought she was and I knew she was pretty damn twisted. She assigned him to be your breeding partner before she assigned him to me? Good grief. I'm even more glad I didn't let him touch me. Imagine how awkward things would be then."

"Oh yeah," Brin agreed. "Zack and Becky said that Alec's living here in Seattle. He still is, right?"

"Yeah," Max said. "He works at a bike messenger service with me and Becky and some friends of mine." She grinned wickedly. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds this out." She pouted. "You'll probably want to tell him this in private, though."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Brin said. "He'll probably be in shock for awhile so I'm sure that you'll still get an opportunity to see that look on his face"

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Max asked.

"No, I wasn't far along enough for them to tell when the fire happened," Brin said. "I guess I won't know until the baby's born. Personally, I'm glad. I like the fact that I'm gonna be surprised."

"That's cool," Max said. They turned and looked to the door and Max walked over to it and opened it and saw Zack and Becky standing in the hallway.

"We were not eavesdropping. We just got back here," Becky said immediately.

"I know," Max said. She gave Zack and big hug and kissed him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you," Zack said.

"I still can't believe that you two hooked up," Brin said. "I'm glad you did."

"What are you going to do about Brin?" Max asked. "I know that you don't like having us too near each other, but her circumstances are a little different."

"I know," Zack said. "I thought about it. I don't feel entirely comfortable leaving Brin in the same city as one of us, but given her pregnancy, I do want someone to always be close by just in case I'm not around if she runs into trouble again."

"I got an idea," Becky said.

"Shoot," Max told her.

"How about she moves in with Maggie?" Becky suggested. "Maggie told me recently that she wanted to have a roommate, but I wasn't too sure that would be a good idea. This would be a perfect solution for everyone. Maggie gets a roommate and Brin would have others close by in case she gets into trouble. And Maggie's medical skills are another plus in the situation."

"Maggie?" Brin asked. "Wait a sec...medical skills...691 is Maggie?"

"Yeah," Becky said. "I'll call her and ask, but I'm pretty sure that she won't mind having you as a roommate at least until you give birth."

"That sounds like a good solution," Zack agreed.

"It'll be great to have you nearby," Max said. She gave Brin another hug.

Becky looked at them and smiled at Zack. "Best birthday present you could have asked for right now, huh?"

"I'd have to agree," Zack said. He smiled back at Becky.

"Happy birthday, big brother," Becky said.

TBC


	49. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"That is a completely true story," Alec said into his cell phone the next day as he was leaving Jam Pony and heading to his apartment. "I know exactly what you mean. I'm glad you were able to make a profit off of it. I'll try to have something else for you within about two weeks or so. Does that work for you? It does? Perfect. I was thinking about this one place over in Tacoma. I'll let you know when my plans are concrete. Talk to you later. 'Bye." He disconnected his phone.

"Planning your next heist already?" a voice said next to him. "You sure don't waste any time."

"That's kind of the pot calling the kettle black, Max," Alec said. "Am I right or am I right?"

"Okay, so you are right on that one," Max admitted.

"I wish Jeff were back in Seattle," Alec muttered. "I need sane conversation."

"You'll get your wish tomorrow," Becky said. "I called Jeff while we were on our lunch break. He said that he'll be back in the city then. Not only that, but Jeff told me that he was thinking about trying to get a job at Jam Pony with us."

"Not bad," Alec said.

"Oh, that reminds me," Max said. "You've got someone waiting for you in your apartment. I wanted to not warn you and make it a total surprise but it was pointed out to me that could backfire and could possibly physically hurt the person waiting for you and you'll see what I mean by that."

"Is it a hooker?" Alec said hopefully.

Max smacked him. "You ass. You wish it was."

"It's not a hooker," Becky said. "But it's definitely a surprise. I hope it will be a good one."

"Okay," Alec said. He looked suspicious. "If this is some rude joke, I will kill both of you. I'll see you guys later."

"See you tomorrow," Max said. She and Becky waved to him and rode off to their own apartments.

Alec shrugged and continued to head to his own place. He got off of his bicycle and took it inside the building and up to his apartment and he tried turning the lock. _At least whoever Max and Becky said is in my place was thoughtful enough to lock the door. I guess that's a good thing. I hope this doesn't turn out to be too bad. Hey, maybe it's 511! I miss that guy. He always did like to try to surprise me._ He grinned and unlocked the door and wheeled his bike inside. "Okay, I'm home, you can come out of hiding now."

"I will," Brin said.

Alec jumped and turned and saw Brin standing in front of him. "I...7..."

"34," Brin finished. "It's Brin. Becky told me you go by Alec now?"

"Yeah, that's my name," Alec said. He sat down, still looking at Brin. "I...Brin, my..." Alec started to say.

"Son or daughter?" Brin said.

"Yeah," Alec said. "Holy crap, that's my kid."

"Yes," Brin said. "Especially when you consider the fact that I broke up with my last boyfriend over a year ago."

"I'm gonna be a father...that's...holy shit," Alec said. "Is this some kind of prank that Max got you up to help pull on me? I'd don't think Max would be that mean, but then again, I did piss her off pretty bad the last time she and I and some of the others from work hung out at Crash together."

"Trust me, this is not a prank. You know that they told you that you were successful and that I'd been impregnated," Brin said. "They told us at the same time, remember?"

"I know," Alec said. "I remember that. I'm just having a nice big helping of shock right now. Do you want some?"

"I've already had enough of that to last me through a few lifetimes, but thanks for offering," Brin said.

"I can imagine that one," Alec said. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "The baby is okay, right?"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell, the baby is fine," Brin said.

"That's great," Alec said. _It is great. I can't believe how relieved I am._

"Were you expecting someone else to be here? You sounded like you were when you came in."

"I definitely wasn't expecting it to be you to be in my apartment," Alec said. "I was thinking that my buddy 511 was in the city and was trying to surprise me again."

"Oh," Brin said.

"So, do you want anything to drink or something like that?" Alec asked. "I guess it's only polite to ask you."

"No, I'm fine," Brin said. "But thanks anyway."

"I could sure as hell use something," Alec said. "Tequila's sounding pretty good right about now." He sighed. "Where are you living now? Are you here in Seattle?"

"No, a little outside of the city," Brin said. "I'm living right now with Becky's sister Maggie."

"Oh," Alec said. "That's good."

"Are you okay?" Brin said. "Wait, that was probably a pretty dumb question."

"I don't have a straight answer for that question for you right now," Alec admitted. "I didn't expect you to show up and tell me that you and the baby are both fine and that I'm going to be a dad. Don't get me wrong, I really didn't wish for you and the baby to die in the fire or anything horrible like that. I'd never wish for anything like that. When I was told of the breeding program and that I'd been placed in the program and assigned to be your breeding partner, I didn't think that I'd have anything to do with the baby when he or she was born. I knew that what I was doing was no different than a normal human guy going to a sperm bank and giving a donation. We both know that if Manticore hadn't burned down, that would be the case. I'll be completely honest with you. I was relieved that I wouldn't have anything to do with the baby after conceiving him or her. I wasn't ready for anything like that. I tried not to think about it too much after the fire and we all got out. But now I guess that it doesn't matter if I'm ready or not because it's gonna happen regardless. I'm not a complete bastard, Brin. I'll be there for our kid." He shook his head. "Like I said, though, I don't know if I'm ready for it."

Brin nodded. "I'm not asking you to be in a relationship with me that's beyond friendship. We should be friends because it would be better for the baby if we got along with each other, but I don't want to pressure you to do anything that's beyond your capacity."

"Thank you," Alec said, relieved. "I'm definitely not ready for a steady girlfriend right now."

"I'm not ready for a boyfriend right now," Brin said.

"The baby's due in February," Alec said. "Middle of February, right?"

"Yeah," Brin said. "It could be born early, I guess, but that's what the doctor back at Manticore told me."

"Then I've got four-and-a-half months to get ready for this," Alec said. "I hope that'll be enough time."

"Good luck," Brin said.

"Thanks," Alec said. He groaned. "Who am I kidding? It's my kid. I'm gonna be screwed."

Brin laughed. "I guess all we have to do is hope that he or she takes after me rather than you."

"Let's cross our fingers," Alec agreed.

TBC


	50. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Tonight's the night!" Sketchy said gleefully at Jam Pony. "Halloween is finally here! Who's gonna be at the party at Crash tonight?"

"You know I'll be there," Original Cindy said. "And for the ten thousandth time, I'm not going to tell you what my costume is. It'll be a surprise."

"Oh, come on," Sketchy said. "Please tell me?"

"No," Original Cindy said.

"Don't forget, we'll also be celebrating two milestones tonight," Jeff said. He grinned even as both Becky and Max punched him in the arm. "Becky's eighteenth birthday and Max's twenty-first."

"As of today, I can legally drink," Max said. "Whoopie."

"You'll be at the party tonight, right?" Sketchy asked.

"I'll be there, but I don't know how long I'll stay," Max said. "I might blaze early."

Becky snickered. She knew why Max would want to leave the party early. "You leave a party early? You must have a pretty good reason if—damn! Do you have to punch so hard?"

"Yes I do," Max said.

"Come on, let's calm down," Alec said. "I'm sure Max here has a perfectly good reason to leave a party early. Then again, this is Max, so—" Alec was cut off when Max hit him. "Somebody's violent today, aren't we?"

"Speaking of parties," Sketchy said. "You haven't been hanging out with me at the bars as much as you used to, Alec."

Alec tried not to roll his eyes. "I've said no to hanging out with you maybe two or three times less than usual in the past month, Sketchy. That's not a big deal. Maybe I'm trying to grow up a little."

"Okay, sure. Call me crazy, but aren't you the guy who only a few weeks ago plastic wrapped the toilet here?" Original Cindy said skeptically.

"For the record, Sketchy was the one who actually plastic wrapped the toilet. I was only his lookout," Alec said.

"Details," Original Cindy said. "Spill it. What's the dealio here? Original Cindy can tell that something's up."

"We're all friends," Sketchy said. "It can't be that bad."

"Well, I was going to tell you guys anyway, but please don't go blabbing it around. I'm still getting used to this myself," Alec said.

"I won't," Original Cindy said. "I can't make any guarantees about Sketchy here."

"I won't, I swear," Sketchy said. "What is it?"

_How should I phrase this one? It's not like I can just say 'I am a genetically engineered super soldier and while I was still in the facility where I was born and raised, I was assigned to impregnate one, well technically two but I only impregnated one, of the women that my identical twin, who I never met by the way, considered to be his sister.' That'd be seriously funny, in my opinion, but I don't know if Sketchy would find it funny. Well, he would but I don't want him repeating that to anybody!_ "I was hanging out with an ex-girlfriend of mine that I'd run into again last month," Alec said. "It turns out that she's pregnant with my kid."

"Holy shit," Sketchy said. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Alec said. "We're friends again and friends occasionally hang out together."

"That would make even you grow up," Original Cindy said.

"Ex-girlfriend?" Jeff repeated. "Not the one who beat the crap out of you when you tried to make out with her on your first and only date with her, right?"

Alec glared at him and ignored Max and Becky's laughter. "No, not that ex. It's the one who turned out to be an old friend of the one who allegedly beat the crap out of me on our date."

"Oh, that one," Jeff said.

"Look, I don't want everybody to know about it just yet," Alec said. "I'm still not completely used to the idea and it's my kid!"

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed," Sketchy said.

"Yeah, until his fifth shot of whiskey at Crash tonight," Original Cindy remarked.

"You know damn well that I don't drink whiskey," Sketchy said, grinning. "I'm a tequila man."

"Why are all of you just standing there?" Normal said.

"Same reason we stand here every day," Max said cheerfully.

"Get your behinds in gear, people," Normal said. "I don't have all day."

"Speaking of tequila, that man needs some of it," Original Cindy said as they walked to their lockers. "He needs to loosen up in the worst way."

"Has he always been this uptight?" Jeff asked.

"Oh yeah," Original Cindy said. "I've been working here for almost two years now and he has not changed one bit since he hired me. I'm starting to think that's impossible for Normal to loosen up and be like an average person." She shrugged. "I don't think that I want Normal to loosen up. Can you all imagine what that would be like?"

"Not really," Max said. "What I can picture is pretty damn ugly. I think that it's pretty safe to say that Normal is just fine the way he is now."

"Do you think he's ever dressed up for Halloween?" Sketchy wondered.

"For the last time, I am not telling you what my costume is," Original Cindy said.

"I didn't ask again," Sketchy said.

"I can read your mind," Original Cindy said.

"Speaking of loosening up," Sketchy muttered. Original Cindy just rolled her eyes and slammed her locker shut. "What are you going as, Max?"

"She's weird enough not to need a costume," Alec teased.

"You are just too funny, Alec," Max said. "And for your information, I'm going as a cat burglar." _In other words, I'm going as myself._

"Becky?" Sketchy asked.

Becky shook her head. "No costume. I don't really like that whole thing."

Sketchy looked pretty surprised. "You don't like dressing up on Halloween?"

"No," Becky said. "It's just not my thing. Besides, my parents never let me out of the house to go trick-or-treating so even if I was into dressing up on Halloween, it would have been a total waste." She smiled. "Don't worry, I'll still be at Crash tonight."

"Are you slackers deaf? Bip bip bip! It's time for you to start delivering packages!" Normal said.

"Come on," Max said. "Let's all at least pretend to work so that Normal doesn't have an aneurism."

TBC


	51. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Holy crap," Becky said. "This is some party."

"You've been in a cafeteria with hundreds of other hungry X-series at a time and this still manages to impress you?" Max said.

"Hilarious," Becky said.

"Come on," Max said. "This is a milestone for you. Your eighteenth birthday."

"I'm not used to these kinds of milestones," Becky admitted. "Manticore didn't exactly believe in celebrating birthdays. Heck, the only way I had an idea as to when my birthday was in the first place before you and I read the database was because of when they had me take the group missions test when I was eleven."

"Well, welcome to celebrating birthdays in the outside world," Max said. "Come on, let's get something to drink and then we can point and laugh at all the weird costumes everybody has on."

Becky laughed. "Speaking of costumes, how come you didn't wear the vest with the cat suit tonight? I thought you said you were going as yourself."

"No, I said that I was going as 'a' cat burglar, not 'the' cat burglar," Max said.

"I guess that is a difference," Becky deadpanned.

"You guess that is a difference?" Max said as she got two beers from the bartender and handed one to Becky. "You could take what I guess Manticore would have considered to be the top of the X5 food chain post-2009 and have him or her go in and try to pull off a bank robbery at a place like Seattle National downtown and he or she would not do it nearly as well as I would."

"I guess there's something to be said for those work study programs, huh?" Becky said. She grinned.

"There sure is," Max agreed.

"Max! Becky!" Sketchy yelled to them.

"Where is...oh, I can't believe it," Max said. "I guess I should believe it, though."

"What?" Becky asked.

"Sketchy's dressed up as a clown," Max said. "He was blabbing all this week about how he wasn't going to dress up as something childish this year."

"Maybe he lost a bet with someone," Becky suggested.

"That definitely sounds plausible," Max said. "Hey, Sketchy! What gives with the costume?"

"I decided that a clown was really the right costume for me after all," Sketchy said.

"You lost a bet, didn't you?" Max said.

"I didn't lose a bet," Sketchy said. "I only lost a round of poker to Alec. The loser had to dress up like a clown tonight."

"You put it together pretty well on such short notice, Sketch," Alec remarked. "Not to mention how well you pull the look off. Personally, I don't think I could look that good as a clown."

"But you look just fine as an ass," Max said sweetly.

"I'm not an ass," Alec said.

"All you need is for someone to pin a tail on your ass and then you've got the whole deal down," Becky said. "What's the deal with the tux? It's going to be so filthy by the end of the night."

"I'm James Bond," Alec said, grinning. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of one of the greatest movie heroes of all time, Becky. I know that you have to have heard about him."

"Dude, my grandmother had the biggest crush on the first guy who played Bond," Sketchy said. "That one dude who she swore got better looking as he got older...damn, what was his name, Alec?"

"Sean Connery," Alec said.

"Yeah, that was the guy," Sketchy said.

"I have heard about the James Bond films," Becky said. "My parents might have tried to make sure I lead a relatively sheltered life, but I wasn't that sheltered. Anyway, where are Jeff and Original Cindy? I don't see either of them around."

"Original Cindy will be here later," Max said. "She was working on her makeup when I was ready to go and told me to go on ahead without her. I'm assuming that Jeff will show up soon. He is going to show up soon, right, Becky?"

Becky rolled her eyes. _If Zack were here, he'd be rubbing it in about how this is payback for the teasing I gave him about him and Max. Thank goodness he's not coming to Crash!_ "Jeff and I are friends but that doesn't mean that I know where he is every second of every minute of every hour of every stupid day." She smiled. _Every action deserves an equal and opposite reaction!_ "Speaking of arriving late, are you sure you still want to leave early? This seems to be a really awesome party and I know I wouldn't want to leave it too early. You really must have a good reason."

"Are you sure that you didn't have any liquor before I picked you up?" Max said. She rolled her eyes. "Alec's kid hasn't been born yet and it's already one up on you on the maturity scale."

"Thanks, Max," Alec said cheerfully.

"And I haven't even mentioned how your child is already at least two up on you," Max said. She laughed.

"Real funny," Alec said.

"Speaking of your kid, are we going to meet his or her mom one of these days?" Sketchy asked.

"One of these days," Alec agreed. "She didn't feel like coming here tonight, but I know she wants to meet all of you at some point."

"Speaking of meeting, look who just showed up," Becky said, looking over at the entrance. "Hey, Jeff! We're over here!"

"Becky!" Jeff said. He made his way over to where they were standing and gave Becky a hug before giving Max a quick hug and then shaking hands with Alec and Sketchy. "What's going on, guys? Have I missed any fun?"

"You haven't missed anything good yet," Max said. "We were pretty much just waiting for you and Original Cindy to show up. The night's still young. I'm sure plenty of fun will happen later."

"And let me say this right now," Becky said. "If any of you gets the bright idea in your head to get up there sing Happy Birthday to me, I will cause serious physical damage to whoever does it."

Max looked at her. _She really can do that. I hope she's joking._ "You're kidding, right?"

"Don't worry, of course I'm kidding," Becky said. "I'll only do psychological harm. Seriously, don't embarrass me by singing Happy Birthday."

"We won't," Alec said. "I can't make any promises about us getting up there to sing a good Happy Birthday to Max, but we won't sing it to you."

"I guess I know when I'm gonna be leaving the party tonight," Max said.

"How about you have as much fun as humanly possible with us before then?" Alec said. "Who wants to see me kick Jeff's ass at pool again?"

Max laughed. "That sounds like a good idea."

TBC


	52. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max laughed and waved to her friends as she left Crash. She grinned as she walked down the street and pulled out her cell phone. She accessed her voice mail and listened to the message that had been left on it and turned to walk in the direction of Becky's apartment. She went inside the building and up the stairs and opened the door and went inside. "I told you I'd leave the Halloween Party kind of early."

"I know you did," Zack said. He wrapped his arms around Max and kissed her. "Happy birthday, Maxie."

"Thank you," Max said. "I'm twenty-freaking-one years old now. They say it's a big year, but I really don't see why. The only big deal I can see about it or used to be about it is that you can legally drink and that doesn't matter anymore." She shrugged. "There's probably something else important about it but I don't care about that."

"When I turned twenty-one, I was out checking up on Zane," Zack said. "Neither of us did anything out of the ordinary that day. I don't think I would have let Zane make a big deal out of it for me even if I had known then that it was my birthday."

"I'm sorry I didn't give you a present last month," Max said.

"That's okay, Max," Zack said. "I'm not very big on receiving presents. I'm worse about giving presents."

"That's fine with me," Max said. "Just having you here with me tonight is all the present that I want. Besides, I wouldn't want whatever you got for Becky for her birthday."

Zack looked a little surprised. "How did you know that I got Becky an automatic for her eighteenth birthday?"

"I didn't know that it was an automatic, but I pretty much figured out that it was a gun," Max said. "She did get you one for your birthday." She laughed. "Most siblings give each other CDs and things like that for birthday present. What does this family give each other for their birthdays? Automatic weapons."

"Only me and Becky," Zack said. "Speaking of her, do you know when she's going to be back from the Halloween party?"

"It's about twelve-thirty now and the party officially ends at two and I'm pretty sure that Becky said that she didn't want to stay all the way until then, so I think she'll be back around one-thirty or so," Max said. "Why?"

"I just wanted to know how long we had the apartment all to ourselves," Zack said.

"She will beat the hell out of us if we ruin her bed," Max said. She grinned. "Good thing I'm not in heat otherwise I think we would destroy it."

"Yeah," Zack agreed. He leaned down and kissed Max again, Max wrapped her arms around Zack's neck and returned the kiss and pressed her body as close to Zack's as she could. Zack took off Max's leather jacket for her without stopping his kiss and tossed it onto the couch. Max started to reach for Zack's shirt to pull it off of them when they suddenly jumped apart.

"Sometimes, I hate having super-human hearing," Max said, shaking her head.

"She needs to work on her timing," Zack said. "I thought—"He sniffed. "Never mind."

"Yeah, never mind indeed," Becky said as she walked into her apartment, some vomit on the front of her shirt. "I'm just back for a few minutes so I can change my shirt and then I'll be going back to the party and you guys can go back to attempting to destroy my bed if you want."

"What happened?" Max asked. "It's a little early for even Sketchy to lose it."

"It wasn't Sketchy, believe it or not," Becky said. "It was some random drunk moron who had a few too many rum and cokes and decided to try to cop a feel on me. It wasn't my fault that he couldn't hold what was in his stomach after a knee connected with it."

"Becky, why do you always have to get violent with men when they try to do something like that to you?" Zack said. "I know that they deserve it, but it could draw too much attention to you even if you are as careful as I know that you are."

"Hey, I didn't hit the guy for once," Becky said. "I got out of the way before his hand could connect with a body part of mine and no, I didn't move too quickly to get out of the way before you even ask and Jeff saw it and he happened to be close enough to the guy at the time to hit him without drawing attention. Unfortunately for me, the guy happened to turn around back to me and that was when he threw up." She went into her room and shut the door behind her.

"I love my baby sister, I really do..." Zack said. He laughed a little. "This feels so damn...normal."

"It does," Max agreed. "You're just another guy who got caught in the act with his girlfriend by a family member."

"Yeah, next time you guys decide to try to christen my apartment, I'd wait until I'm not within minutes of it and can't get back to it as easily," Becky teased.

Zack rolled his eyes. "Have you been drinking at the party?"

"Just one beer so far," Becky said. "You know I'm not a big drinker."

"I know," Zack said. "I'm still trying to come up with an explanation for your behavior."

Becky grinned. "Like I've said before, it's one of those unwritten brother-sister rules. Don't worry, I'm leaving again now. I really am sorry if I ruined anything you had planned."

"It's okay," Max said. "Go back to the party and have fun and make sure that Sketchy can at least pretend to stand on his feet by the end, okay?"

"I will," Becky promised. She left.

"I wish that she didn't have a point, but she actually did," Max said. "We probably should wait until she isn't as close to the apartment as she is before we try anything in it when we have it to ourselves."

"I know," Zack agreed. "What do you want to do?"

"Since we do have the place to ourselves, what do you say that we get a few pizzas and come back and enjoy them and Becky's satellite TV hookup?" Max suggested.

"You want chicken and anchovy pizza again," Zack said.

"It's not my fault that there's actually a place around here that makes it," Max said, grinning.

"I don't know what to do with you sometimes," Zack said. He smiled. "But that's one of the things that I love about you."

Max grinned up at him. "I love you, too."

TBC


	53. Chapter 48

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** These next few chapters are going to be a kind of AU version of the season 2 episode "Some Assembly Required," so there might be some spoiler-ish stuff for that episode here and there. Enjoy!

_Lot of people out on the street today,_ Maggie thought as she walked through downtown Seattle one chilly day. _It's supposedly always been this busy the day after Thanksgiving. I vaguely remember a nurse saying to one of the other nurses one night before the pulse about how she was going to brave the crowds to go shopping on that day one time._

She checked her watch. _I should probably grab some lunch soon. I'm starting to get hungry. I gotta remember to get those gross frozen dinners that Brin seems to like before I head back to the apartment. Why she actually likes that crap is beyond me. It must be one of those weird pregnant lady craving things._

She crossed the street to the next block and stared ahead. _I hope the clouds go away and that it doesn't rain. I hate rain when it's cold outside. I actually like snow, I guess that's what you get when you grow up in frozen middle-of-nowhere Wyoming, but cold rain drives me bonkers. Does it actually snow here in Seattle? I should ask Max about that one the next time I see her._

Maggie stopped in front of a restaurant. _I guess this place looks like a good place to grab some lunch. Good thing it doesn't look too expensive. I think...what the heck?_ She turned to look in the direction of what had caught her eye and saw a girl who appeared to be of Eurasian descent across the street from her. _Do I know her? She looks so familiar._

She quickly crossed the street and followed the girl at a safe distance. _Are you crazy, Maggie? Becky would probably give you a lecture about this one! I wish I knew why this girl looks so familiar to me. I know I didn't see her around the Manticore facility that was here in Seattle, but I swear that I know her from somewhere!_

She continued to follow the girl until the girl stopped to wait to cross the sidewalk. At that moment, a breeze blew the girl's hair off her neck and Maggie caught a very brief glimpse of a barcode and was shocked. _There's no way it can be her! She died years ago!_ She started to grab her cell phone, paused, and then turned and walked quickly away.

* * *

Becky stood in her kitchen as she fixed herself a sandwich. _Thank goodness Normal decided to stay closed for the entire Thanksgiving weekend! I like having a day to relax and just chill out. Just me and my lunch and whatever crap is on TV right now._ She heard a knock at her door and went to answer it and when she opened the door she saw Maggie standing there, looking as white as a sheet.

"Come in," Becky said. "What are you doing here, Maggie? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I think I just did," Maggie said. "I was in the city because I've got today off from my job and I was about to go get something for lunch when I saw this girl who looked so familiar. I could have sworn that I knew her from someplace. I started to follow the girl and don't worry, she didn't notice me following her. I know that following her was a dumb idea, but I swear I knew her from someplace. It was right on the tip of my tongue, so to speak, but I couldn't quite remember. So she stops so she can wait to cross the street and the breeze picked up for a second and blew her hair away and I saw a barcode. It was impossible, Becky. It couldn't have been her, she's been dead for about half of my life, but it was. I know it was her."

Becky grew concerned. "She had a barcode? Maggie, what was the girl's barcode?"

"332500937662," Maggie said. "It was 662."

"Holy shit," Becky said. She was stunned. "That is impossible. Lydecker himself told me that she had been killed for allegedly accidentally shooting that trainer in that training exercise we did with Unit 5 that day. I know that you're not lying, but this is impossible."

Maggie nodded and looked over at the coffee table where Becky's laptop was. "What about the database? Does it say in her file that she's actually alive?"

"I looked at all of our files, and her file said that she'd been executed on April 14th, 2013, the night of the training exercise," Becky said. "I guess we should take another look and see if there's anything else." She and Maggie sat down on the couch. Becky grabbed the database CD and popped it in and opened it.

"The whole thing's been decrypted, right?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, it's all been decrypted," Becky said. She quickly got to the files on their unit and opened up the one on 662. "Here it is. 'Died: April 14th, 2013. Cause of Death: Executed for the unintentional fatal wounding of Commander Henry Anderson during a training exercise.' That's all it says. There's nothing here in this file that says in any way shape or form that she was not executed on that day." She Maggie looked at each other. "It's not in this file."

"But it could be in some other file in the database somewhere?" Maggie guessed when she saw the look on Becky's face. "This is gonna be tough to search for, Becky. Where should we look?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Becky said. "How about we take a page from Max's book and make it up as we go along? It seems to work for her."

"That sounds like as good of an idea as any I can come up with," Maggie agreed.

"Okay, then," Becky said. "Let's get back to the main file directory here and take a look. We know it can't be under those folders and we've looked under those...here's one that we haven't looked at yet. 'Projects.' It's been decrypted, but I haven't had the need to look through it yet."

"I'd say that we have the need to look through it now," Maggie said.

"I'd say that you're right," Becky said. She clicked on the folder. "The breeding program has a folder in this directory. A folder for what I'm guessing is experimentation done with the X2s that were left. We definitely don't have to look in that folder." She paused and nodded. "We've hit the jackpot. There's a folder labeled with 662's full barcode number."

"I'm almost afraid to open it," Maggie said.

"You and me both, Maggie," Becky said. She opened the folder and clicked on the file that was inside and started to read. Her eyes narrowed and she looked angrier the more that she read. "Those bastards."

"Why? What did they do to her?" Maggie asked. She leaned forward to read the file. "They botched her execution. They stuck her in Psy Ops for six hours and when they shot her in the head afterwards, the shot didn't kill her. She was in a pretty deep coma, but it didn't kill her and it looked like she was heading towards brain death anyway so they decided to keep her alive and on life support so that when she was finally declared brain dead, how long it would take before her organs would start to fail. A week later and then 427 confessed to being the real shooter. 662's condition remained the same for close to three years before she slowly showed signs of actually improving. The decision was made to use 662 to test the new..." Maggie's eyes widened and she stood up and walked away from the couch. "They used our little sister as a human guinea pig!"

"Like I said, they were bastards," Becky said. "I'm angry as hell but somehow not that surprised." She sighed and continued to read the file. "Subject X6-662 is being caught up on her training and is set to begin her mission..." Suddenly Becky got pale. "No. This can't be right." She shook her head. "At the time of the fire, 99.9 percent of us couldn't have known that Renfro deliberately tried to kill all of us. The only explanation that was logical to us was that someone else had attacked Manticore and that Manticore isn't dead and buried. If that's true, then they'll still carry out whatever missions that they had been sent on or were about to be sent on."

Maggie turned to look at Becky. _This is not a good sign. Becky is usually so damn stoic around us. She never lets us see what she's really thinking and feeling. If something's gotten through her mental defenses as easily as this has, it's got to be really bad._ She went back to the couch and looked at the laptop and saw what had gotten Becky so rattled. "Oh my God."

"Exactly," Becky said. She turned and saw the duffel bag that was lying next to the couch and got out her cell phone and speed dialed a number. "Zack, it's me. Get Max and get to my apartment right now. It's an emergency." She disconnected and closed her eyes. "This better not be happening. This better not be happening."

TBC


	54. Chapter 49

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I love who or whatever made Normal decide to give everybody the entire weekend off," Max said to Original Cindy as they sat around the apartment.

"You and me both, boo," Original Cindy said. "Why aren't you out spending some quality time with your boy? Didn't he get into the city last night?"

"I know that Zack got into the city last night," Max said. "He's going to come by in about an hour or so."

"You need me to stay clear of the place tonight?" Original Cindy offered. "It sucks that you got interrupted the last time when Becky came back early from the Halloween party to change after that moron threw up on her."

"I'll let you know," Max said. "But I'd say that—" She and Original Cindy turned when the door suddenly opened. "Zack? Why are you early?"

"Get your jacket and come with me," Zack said. "We've got to get to Becky's apartment now."

"Is something wrong?" Max asked. "Is Becky or one of the others okay?"

"Becky just said that it was an emergency," Zack said. "Come on."

Max was worried. She knew what the tone of voice that Zack was using meant. "I'm right behind you." She grabbed and put on her jacket and wheeled her motorcycle out of the apartment as she followed Zack outside. She waited for Zack to get on his motorcycle before she got on hers and she followed him over to Becky's apartment. They parked their bikes and went inside. They didn't bother to knock when they got to the apartment.

"Thank goodness you guys are here," Becky said. "You've got to get out of Seattle right now."

"Excuse me?" Max said. "Why do Zack and I have to leave town?"

"I was downtown a little while ago," Maggie said. "I saw this girl who looked so familiar to me and I followed her and I ended up catching a glimpse of a barcode and I recognized it and then the girl as my sister 662. The one who was supposed to have and that Becky and I and the rest of our family were told had died over seven-and-a-half years ago."

"Maggie came over her as soon as she recognized her," Becky said. "She told me what happened and we tried looking in the database for some answers. Like I'd thought, there was nothing in 662's file that gave us any useful information. It just said that she'd died the day that we were told that she'd died on. We started to look through the rest of the database starting with the folder marked 'Projects.' We found a folder labeled with 662's barcode number and that's where we found out what had happened to her. Her execution had been botched and the gunshot wound that was supposed to have killed her instead put her into a coma for about three years. They figured when they'd shot her that she'd be brain dead fairly quickly, but she hung on past when 427 confessed and continued to hang on and then got better."

"Not too long before 662 actually came out of the coma but around the time that she started to seriously show signs of improvement, Manticore somehow came across this new technology," Maggie said. "It was a computer chip that could be implanted into the head. It could control a person's thoughts; it could control their physical strength, those kinds of things. It didn't say whether Manticore had invented this technology themselves or if they had stolen it from a foreign government or some private company or anything like that. They did say that they had tested this new chip in a few normal humans, but that it was too much for them to take and they wanted to see if a transgenic could handle it, so they made the decision to implant one of these chips into 662. They performed the surgery before she came out of the coma."

"That's completely sick," Max said. "At least when they would do experiments on us, they would have the common courtesy to tell us right before they started what they were going to do. Even though we had no choice about cooperating with them, at least we still had that. Those bastards wouldn't even let your sister have that much."

"I know. It makes me so damn furious," Becky said. "Anyway, they implanted the chip into 662 and the surgery itself went just fine and 662 continued to recover from the gunshot wound and came out of the coma just two weeks after the surgery to implant the chip. Her recovery was pretty quick once she actually regained consciousness. When they could properly test the chip, they did and it was everything that they hoped that it would be. 662 became even stronger and faster than she already was, even stronger than me. But what really made Lydecker and Renfro and all those other people happy was how easily controlled this chip made 662 to them. She could accept commands the same way any of us can, but if they typed up a command or a mission for 662 into this special program and hit that enter key...662 would perform it without question, without hesitation, just like a robot."

"According to the file, that's pretty much what 662 became once they implanted the chip into her. A human or transgenic in this case, robot. Little to no emotions. She just does what she's told in the most efficient way possible," Maggie said. "They also continued to use 662 as their favorite guinea pig. For instance, they needed a kidney from an X6 about three years ago because one of the guys from Unit 7 had been badly wounded while he was out on a mission with the rest of his unit, so they took one of 662's kidneys and instead of leaving her with one kidney, they put a new biosynthetic kidney in to replace the one that she 'donated' to see how it would work." Maggie sighed. "The part that really concerns you has to do with what they were prepping 662 to do when the fire happened."

"After 662 had come out of her coma and it was apparent that the chip was a success, they transferred 662 to the facility near Syracuse in New York," Becky said. "And of course, she came to Seattle when they combined the facilities after you guys and your brother Krit and your sister Syl blew the DNA lab. She had caught up to where she needed to be with her training at that point and even though she hadn't actually been cleared to go out on a solo mission at that point, they were prepping her to go out on one. She was being prepped to go out and find your family and bring all of you back in to Manticore."

"She doesn't know that Renfro deliberately burned the place down to kill all of us, does she?" Zack said. "She's obviously not been able to contact the base so she's going to go ahead with the mission that she was about to be sent out to do. I know that she hasn't gotten to any of us so far. What will she do when she realizes that there's no base to take us back to?"

Becky looked at her brother right in the eye. "In the event that she is unable to contact base when she has a target in sight, her orders are to kill."

"Oh no," Max said.

"Exactly," Becky said. She sat back down on her couch. "She's out for the kill. And like I said before, you won't be able to take her on like you would have under normal circumstances."

"Is this chip anything like the implant that the South Africans used? Those Red morons. The implant that I've still got in my head," Max said.

"If you're asking if it can be shorted out, the database doesn't say," Becky said. "We've got to find a way to deactivate the chip in 662's head. Before we can do that, you and Zack need to get out of Seattle, if for no other reason so that you can go out and warn your brothers and sisters."

"And leave you by yourself here with your brainwashed sister?" Zack said. "You should come with us."

"I'm not the one that's on the hit list that Manticore gave her, you are," Becky said.

"Becky, you could be in danger if you run into your sister again," Zack said.

"You might be my big brother, but you do not have the right to order me around," Becky said.

"You two can be quiet right now," Max said. "This isn't the time to start arguing and fighting with each other. I know how worried you two are about each other and I'm worried, too. But we need to stay calm so that we can figure everything out."

"You're right," Zack said. He took a deep breath. "Who exactly is on 662's list? Did the database give a complete list?"

"Yeah, it did," Becky said. She turned the laptop around so that Max and Zack could get a better look at it and then went back over to them and started to read it again. "'The targets for X6-662's mission are X5-701, X5-157, X5-205, X5-210, X5-120, X5-369, and X5-798, as well as X5-599 and X5-452 in the unlikely event that they should once again go AWOL, as they are still classified as flight risks at this time.' And it also says that Lydecker is on the list."

"What do you think we should do, Zack?" Max asked.

"We need more information," Zack said. "One way or another. I've got the impression that there are still a few holes left that need to be filled in."

"How about we get you two to someplace safe in or close to the city," Becky suggested. "Maggie and I or maybe we could get Alec and or Jeff to join us in doing some recon. Once we've gotten it and a clearer picture of what to do, you guys can leave town or whatever, though I think that you should leave town within two days at the most, even if we don't have anything new by then."

"That sounds good to me," Max said.

Zack nodded. "That's what we'll do for now."

TBC


	55. Chapter 50

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"You all ready to get some recon done?" Becky asked Maggie, Jeff, and Alec as they walked out of the safe house that they left Max and Zack at.

"Ready and willing," Maggie said.

"What does 662 look like?" Alec asked.

"She's only about 5'1", black hair, fair skin, and her eyes look a little Oriental," Maggie said. "When I saw her, she was wearing blue jeans, a red shirt, and a gray jacket. I didn't see anything visible to suggest any sort of cybernetic enhancements, but the ones that she we know that she does have, like the chip, are all internal. I didn't see anything else that would be considered distinguishing, like a tattoo, just the barcode. You guys know her barcode number, right?"

Jeff nodded. "Yeah, we both know it. Where should we start looking?"

"Jeff, head south and start covering that area of the city. Alec, go head east. Maggie, go cover the west portion of the city and I'll start close to where Maggie saw her earlier and work my way north," Becky said. "Call either or both me and Zack and Max if you spot her and if you do, continue tracking her and at least one more of the four of us will join you."

"Stop her if we spot her trying to carry out her mission, right?" Maggie said.

"Right," Becky said. "The chances of us catching 662 in action are fairly minimal since a: both Max and Zack are in a safe location right now and b: none of their brothers and sisters that are on 662's hit list are near Seattle."

"So the only one she has a chance at is Lydecker and that's only if he's in Seattle," Alec said. "I didn't see nearly as much of him as you and Maggie have, but from what I remember of him, he goes by his own book. He wouldn't want to stick too close to the proverbial scene of the crime unless he has a reason to or if he feels that it's safe. When was the last time that Max said that Lydecker was in Seattle? When he was helping her and Zack and Krit and Syl plan the raid on the DNA lab last March?"

"That's right," Becky said. "And as much as any of us would rather wring the bastard's neck, if we see 662 try to take the hit on him, we get Lydecker the hell out of the way." She sighed. "I think that covers all of it. Let's move out."

They split up and headed in their respective directions. _I thought that Alec would have made a joke about being back at Manticore or being bossed around by an X6 again, but even he knows how serious this is,_ Becky thought. _This is not going to be easy. For all we know, 662 could even be out of town now!_

She walked down a street, completely alert for any sign of her sister. _We have got to find a way to stop 662. There has to be a way to stop her and get the sister that I knew back. There's no question about it. We're going to find a way and we're going to do it. I absolutely will not think about the alternative. There is none._

Becky grinned to herself. _I remember the first time I saw 662. I was almost four and she was only a week old. Lydecker brought me and Kyle since he was my second-in-command into the nursery and showed her to us. She was so little and Kyle was a little freaked by her. I can't believe that was a little more than fourteen years ago._

She saw two children fighting over something and smiled again at the memory that came to mind. _I remember the day that they made us, well those of us that they said were old enough, fight Max and Zack's family. 662 was so disappointed that they made her sit it out because they thought that she was too young. Even Manticore wasn't cruel enough to make a two-year-old participate in sparring against kids that are as much as eleven years older than they are! 662 was there watching it and she was so excited and she couldn't stop talking about how awesome it was to see me beat Zack and Max and the other members of their family that Lydecker made me spar against. She was even more talkative than 956 that day!_

She continued walking around the city as she searched for her sister. After a while, she heard her cell phone ring. She took it out of her pocket and checked the number before she answered it. "Got anything, Jeff?"

"Yeah, I just spotted a girl matching the description that Maggie gave," Jeff said. "She's heading towards the general area that you're searching. I'm not sure of the ETA. She's on foot and I'll call you again in a few minutes."

"Great," Becky said. "I'll talk to you then." She disconnected and was about to continue on when something caught her eye from inside a restaurant window. She checked to make sure that nobody was looking before she zoomed in and nodded to herself. "Good thing that Jeff called me to let me know." She took a deep breath before she went inside the restaurant and walked right over to a table in the corner and sat down in front of the person sitting at it. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Lydecker barely managed to hide his surprise at seeing Becky in front of him. "It certainly has, 405. I didn't know that you were in Seattle."

"You know now and right now you need to come with me," Becky said. "It seems that you're on the hit list of an at least partially computer chip-controlled and cybernetically enhanced fourteen-year-old transgenic hit woman that I just found out is not only here in Seattle, but is also heading in this direction." She glared at Lydecker. "I know that you know who this girl is and we'll deal with my feelings on that particular matter later, but we've got some more immediate concerns right now. If you value your life at all because I'm still debating on that one, you're going to come with me to someplace safe and we're going to have a nice chat with some mutual friends."

"Very well," Lydecker said. He did not look happy, but he knew Becky well enough to know that she was deadly serious.

"Good," Becky said. "Show me to where you're parked." She took out her cell phone again and dialed Jeff's number and talked as she followed Lydecker to his car. "Jeff? It's me. Call Alec and ask him to join you in tailing her. I've got the big guy with me and I'm taking him to the safe house. I'll call you again later." She disconnected and dialed Maggie's number. "It's me. Meet me at the safe house. I ran across the big guy and I've got him with me. I'll see you there." She disconnected again and put the phone away as they reached the SUV and held out her hand. "You don't mind if I drive, do you, Lydecker? I am the one who knows where we're going."

"Go ahead," Lydecker said. He handed her the keys.

"Thanks," Becky said. She let herself in and then opened the passenger door for Lydecker and started up the car and dialed one more number. "It's me. Tell him that I've got the big guy and please try to keep him calm until we get there." She disconnected and drove them to the safe house. She parked and led Lydecker inside. "Look what this cat dragged in."

"That is one big, nasty rat," Zack agreed. "Please do us a favor and spare the 'But I helped you destroy the DNA lab' bullshit. I think that I can speak for all of us here that nobody's in the mood to hear it."

Lydecker nodded and turned and saw Max and looked surprised. "Max. I didn't think that even you would survive."

"I thought that even you knew that cats had nine lives," Max said sweetly. "Wasn't I just the luckiest thing that an X5 happened to take one straight through the head while out on a mission the day before we raided our old home? I think it was so nice of him to want to be an organ donor, don't you?"

"It was very generous of him," Lydecker said. He looked over and saw Zack and Becky standing next to each other as they watched him.

Zack caught him looking at met the look. "We know, if that's what you were wondering. Thanks for not telling us."

"What is going on with 662?" Lydecker asked. "Are we waiting for somebody, 405?"

"We are, and the name is Becky," Becky said. "We're waiting for my sister Maggie. You know her as 691."

They waited around silently until Maggie showed up several minutes later. "I'm here—oh great," she said when she saw Lydecker.

"It's okay, he's not going to do anything," Becky said.

"Not if he wants to stay in one piece," Zack agreed.

"Now is the time when you start talking," Max said. "You can start by telling us what exactly happened when Becky and Maggie's little sister was supposedly executed."

"The other two trainers that were assigned to supervise and run the training exercise brought in X6-662 to Psy Ops and called me in and explained to me their version of the event that occurred," Lydecker said. "662 insisted that she was innocent and that 405—Becky—could and would corroborate her alibi that they had been paired up and working on their targets away from where the accident had occurred. Our Psy Ops units were not ready to begin executing an interrogation of that nature at that point."

"But if they had been there, you would have let 662 go," Becky said coldly. "What a load of crap."

"You know perfectly well that they were integrated into the routine in Psy Ops within a year of the incident," Lydecker said. "After several hours of interrogation, we brought 662 into another room to perform the execution. She was taken down with a single bullet to the head as was the standard procedure, but the soldier who performed the execution's aim was off and when we checked the body to make sure that there was no pulse, we found one."

"Ticked off that you didn't do the job yourself, huh?" Max said sarcastically.

"I made the decision to keep 662's body alive for research purposes," Lydecker said. "The injury that she sustained was so severe that the doctors believed that she would be brain dead within days. Her condition remained stable up to and past the time when X6-427 confessed to be the soldier who killed the trainer." He gave Becky a look.

Becky snorted. "427 deserved every bit of the beating that I gave him and even you know that. Three weeks in solitary was absolutely more than worth it. Even after that, why didn't you tell me that 662 didn't die? Don't give me that 'we thought she was about to die so we thought it would be better if we told you that she did' crap. It would have been just as easy to come back and tell me that she was alive. Though I guess having the guards with the automatic rifles there to make sure that I didn't rip you to shreds for lying to me about my youngest sister would have been a little annoying to get."

"662 was comatose. She would have been useless to you and your unit at the time," Lydecker said. "We did contemplate that idea when it became apparent that 662 was showing significant signs of improvement, but then the opportunity with the chip fell into our laps. We had stolen the technology during a raid by a unit of X4s on a base just outside of Tokyo a few months before. We first tested the chips out on regular human beings, but they couldn't handle the implanted chip. We wanted to test out the chip on a transgenic. We knew exactly how to program them and all we had to do was find someone who could handle having one inside their heads."

"And then there was poor little 662 just right under your noses," Max said. "We all read that this chip basically controls her mentally and jumps up her physical abilities as well past what Zack or I can take on."

"That's true," Lydecker said. "Even Becky would have a slim to no chance at all of taking on 662 as she is right now and coming out the victor."

"When was the decision made to get 662 ready to send her out after us?" Zack asked. "Was it before or after Renfro cut you out of the loop and if it was before, was it you who made the original decision?"

"We were throwing around several possibilities," Lydecker admitted. "We were considering sending Becky to go out after all of you, but then she was needed to go on the solo mission to Russia. Renfro wanted to send 662 out to bring you in, but I was against it because even with 662's enhanced abilities and the fact that she was caught up to where she was supposed to be with her training at that point, the fact was that 662 was not fully trained like Becky and a few of the other older X6s were and wasn't ready to handle a mission of that magnitude yet. It was one of the few things that Renfro agreed with me about and I'm guessing that she changed her mind at some point after the DNA lab was destroyed."

The transgenics nodded. "From what we read, the decision to get 662 ready for the mission was made not too long before Manticore burned down," Becky said. "They were planning on sending 662 officially on the mission within a week of the fire."

"We're figuring that 662 will carry out her mission regardless of Manticore's destruction," Maggie said. "Is that right?"

"That is what 662 was trained to do," Lydecker said.

"So she'll kill any of us on site," Zack said.

"Right," Lydecker said.

Becky looked back at Lydecker. "Is there any way to reverse this chip and get 662 back to who she was before you turned her into a living transgenic robot?"

"The testing we did on the chip wasn't as complete as we would have liked, but the chip would have to be reprogrammed by a technician or removed by a doctor," Lydecker said. "When that happens, 662 will return to who claim that she once was both mentally and physically. Manticore doctors and technicians are hard to come by these days."

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Zack said.

"Is it anything like the South African implant that I've still got in my neck?" Max asked. "Can it be shorted out like that one was?"

"It would take a tremendous electrical shock for the chip that's implanted in 662 to short out and become useless," Lydecker said. "It can be left in there and will be perfectly harmless to 662, but it will take an extremely large electrical shock to short out the chip."

"Can a taser do it?" Zack asked.

"Possibly, but if it does, it will take a sustained hit at the maximum setting for there to be a hope of it working," Lydecker said. "The hit won't short out any of the biosynthetic implants or organs that are in 662 since they are built differently and are somewhat less delicate than the chip."

"It will work," Becky said.

"The odds of you stopping 662 from trying to complete her mission are almost astronomical," Lydecker said. "She will kill you before you can attempt to try to short out the chip in her head. She will kill you and then she will move on and kill the X5s on her list. The only realistic way out of this situation is to kill 662."

"Don't forget about you're on that list," Zack said.

"I will not kill my baby sister," Becky said. "We will stop her. There's no question."

"Becky, you need to be reasonable," Lydecker said. "You were trained much better than this. I don't know where you got this information, but I know how smart you are and that you must have at least most of the information that you want and need. 662 will not stop for anybody, even her former commanding officer. She will complete her mission and execute Zack—"

"No," Becky said. "You said that you know me, so you should know that I'm going to find a way to get this done." She shook her head. "Maggie, take Lydecker out and get him out of the city to a secure place where he can stay the night."

Maggie nodded. "I'll call and let you know when I'm on my way back into Seattle." She and Lydecker left the safe house.

"That wasn't fun," Max said. "Finding your sister and trying to get her to abort the mission—"

"Let's not sugar coat this, Max," Becky said bitterly. "Let's call it what it is. I'm going to have to choose whose life do I value more: my own flesh and blood over someone that I care about as much as if she was my flesh and blood. Zack, and the rest of you, is screwed. 662 is going to kill him eventually if she isn't stopped. We all know this. You both know that I'd never let anything happen to Zack if I can help it and you also know that I'd never let anybody hurt or kill one of my younger siblings if I can help it." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I have to save both of them. Like I said to Lydecker, there's no question about it. I have to save them both."

TBC


	56. Chapter 51

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"This is so surreal," Max said that night to Zack and they sat around in the safe house. "I can't believe that I'm being forced out of town like this. It's amazing how Manticore can be long gone and still manage to screw us over."

"I know," Zack said.

"What should we do once we get out of town?" Max asked. "Should we try to make it to Canada or does that even matter? Zack, I'm so sick of being hunted like an animal. First it was being on the run from Lydecker and then Renfro for so long after we escaped and now it's White and his bastards and now on top of that we're running from a fourteen-year-old girl who was supposed to be dead and can kill us without caring about it or breaking too much of a sweat."

Zack shook his head. "I can't stand this either, Maxie. I think what's getting to us is that it's out of our hands. We were forced into this situation. Not only that, but Becky's sister is something of an unknown enemy. At least we know how to deal with regular soldiers trying to come after us. We haven't seen what she is capable of. We've only read it and have been told it by Lydecker. If what we've heard is true, though..."

"Speaking of being forced into this situation, can you imagine what Becky is going through right now?" Max said. "This has to be hell for her. I wish that there was something that we could so to help her."

"I don't know if there is anything that we can do," Zack said. "The fact is that this is Becky's sister and this is her responsibility. You know that I would help her and I know that you would too if there was a way, but 662's mission takes us both out of the equation. If she can be stopped at all, it will most likely be Becky who will be the one who will stop her. I have faith in her and I know that she'll do whatever it takes."

"Do you think that she'll actually kill 662 if it comes to that?" Max asked quietly.

Zack hugged Max. "I don't know if she will or not. I know that it will kill her inside if she ends up being forced to do that." He looked Max in the eye. "You know that I don't hold anything against you for what happened with Ben. You did the right thing by killing him when he asked you to."

"I shouldn't have had to," Max said. "He was right, though. Lydecker and his men were too close for me to be able to get a safe distance away while carrying him. I wish it hadn't come to that."

"It's easy to think of everything that could have happened instead," Zack said. "There's the obvious 'what if Ben hadn't gone crazy and was as relatively normal as the rest of us.' There's 'What if Ben hadn't gone to Seattle?' Then there are my two personal favorites, 'What if I had known about what Ben was doing?' and 'What if I had been the one to confront Ben?'"

Max was a little surprised. "You didn't know what was going on with him? Weren't you checking in on Ben from time to time like you were with the others?"

"I was," Zack said. "But Ben knew how to cover his tracks from me. He could always do that back at Manticore, though I'd always find him or figure what he'd be up to eventually. You were always quicker at catching onto him than I was. By the time that I had caught on to the murders that he was committing, you had already confronted him and he was dead."

"It would almost definitely have been messier if you had been the one to confront Ben," Max said. "I remember how the two of you used to get along back when we were kids. You guys were definitely close but Ben could really get under your skin when he wanted to." She managed a smile. "I guess he and Alec really are alike other than the face in some ways."

"Maybe," Zack said. "I don't know Alec as well as you know him. I've only met the guy a few times."

"Thanks for not killing him when he told you that he was the father of Brin's baby," Max said. "I think Brin wants the kid to have his or her father around."

"I'm back," Becky said. She put the things that she had been carrying down on the floor. "I got Zack's things from my apartment and some of Max's stuff from her apartment and two sleeping bags for you guys. I hope it's enough."

"It should be fine," Zack said. "Are you doing okay?"

"No," Becky said. "I don't think I am." She was quiet for a few moments. "Have either of you ever feel like this before? Like you're about to run right into a brick wall and there's not much that you can do to slow yourself down before you hit?"

"No," Max said. "I don't think I have."

Becky looked at Max. "Are you scared, Max?"

"It's always scary when someone wants you dead," Max said.

"I am so sorry, Max," Becky said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Max said. "Where's Maggie? Did she go back to her apartment or is she staying in Seattle tonight?"

"She's gonna stay in the city tonight," Becky said. "She'll be crashing on my couch since Zack's going to be here tonight." Her cell phone rang and she answered it. "What have you got, Jeff?"

"She's stopped for the night," Jeff said. "She's sleeping in an abandoned house about a mile south southwest of the city. She's fast asleep right now and she's seems like she's a pretty heavy sleeper. Is that an effect of the chip or was she always like that?"

Becky had to smile. "She was always a heavy sleeper. 662 had the most normal sleeping habits out of all of us. She could go a few days with no sleep if she absolutely had to, but she usually needed about six or so hours of sleep every night and it was hard to wake her up before she wanted to be woken up. I'm glad to hear that hasn't changed about her. Can you give me directions to 662's location from the safe house?"

"Can do," Jeff said. He gave Becky the directions.

"Excellent," Becky said. "I'll be by soon and take watch and then you and Alec can go back to your respective apartments."

"Okay," Jeff said. "Then one of us will come back to relieve you so that you can get some sleep."

"That sounds good," Becky said. "I'll be there soon." She disconnected and turned back to Max and Zack. "It looks like I've got some surveillance to do. This should be interesting."

"If you need anything, let us know," Max said. "Hey, I have to ask."

Becky smiled. "I know. I'll check in with you later." She left.

"I'm worried about her, Max," Zack confessed.

"I think we all are," Max agreed.

TBC


	57. Chapter 52

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky walked silently up to where Maggie was standing a safe distance away from the house that 662 was staying in the next night. "How's everything looking?"

"She still hasn't left the house yet," Maggie said. "Maybe she's having a late dinner or something. I have no clue. How are Max and Zack? What's their status?"

"They're going to split tonight," Becky said. "They're going to head across the border over to Vancouver and stay there until 662 is safely away from Seattle." She shook her head. "This is completely insane. Their family is going to be safe if either someone tails 662 around the country 24-7 so if one of them is living where 662 is going, that X5 can be given the heads up or if and when we somehow convince 662 to abort her mission."

"I don't envy you," Maggie said. "I'm glad I'm not the commanding officer."

Becky smiled a little. "Manticore's over so technically I'm not anybody's commanding officer anymore."

"You know what I mean," Maggie said. "Even if they had decided to replace you as our C.O. when they evaluated all of us a few years ago, we'd still have looked up to you and followed your lead. You really are our big sister. Remember Unit 2 and how after they had been evaluated Lydecker replaced 193 as C.O. with 089 but even though he did, they always seemed to go to 193 when they were in trouble or needed help with anything? That's how we feel about you. You know that."

"I do. It really means a lot, Maggie," Becky said.

Maggie nodded. "You all set for your shift?"

"I am," Becky said. "I even have a taser in my pocket."

"Can't you just take her down with a non-lethal shot?" Maggie asked. "Tasers are practically guaranteed, but between a taser and a gun, while the taser is much more effective at subduing us than a non-lethal shot from a gun, the taser is also the easiest for us to avoid when it's being shot at us."

"You heard what Lydecker said to us yesterday. A sustained hit with a taser could short out the chip that's in 662's head and return her to normal," Becky said. "If I get the chance to use the taser, I'll take it."

"What's stopping you from going into that house and doing that now?" Maggie asked.

"I need the element of surprise," Becky pointed out.

"True," Maggie said. "Anyway, I'll get going back to your place. Call me if you need me."

"I will," Becky said. She watched Maggie go and sighed before she focused on the house in front of her.

* * *

"Think we'll actually make it as far as the border this time?" Max joked to Zack as they were strapping their bags to their motorcycles.

Zack shrugged. "I hope so. Let's try to get into Vancouver and settled into a motel for the night by two in the morning, two-thirty at the latest. I don't know if you're going to need to sleep tonight, but I will."

"If all goes according to plan, that shouldn't be too hard to get done," Max said. "It's only about nine-thirty now and it's supposedly about three hours by car or bus to Vancouver from Seattle."

"You'll be back in Seattle again," Zack promised. "I'm not going to force you to not come back here if you want to come back."

Max smiled. "Thank you. I do want to come back here when this blows over. I hope it does."

"So do I," Zack said. He grabbed his helmet. "Ready to leave?"

"Ready as I'm gonna get," Max said. She and Zack jumped on their motorcycles and left the safe house.

* * *

Becky stiffened and zoomed in as she watched 662 leave her house. She saw 662 take off the backpack that she was wearing and check whatever was inside of it before putting it back on and continuing on her way. Becky nodded to herself and followed her.

_She's on the move. I hope she doesn't go near the safe house. If she does, I hope that Max and Zack have already left for Canada! I don't want anything to be messier than it has to be._

Becky continued to follow 662 and waited for a few minutes from across a street while 662 went into a fast food place to get some food. She took out her cell phone and dialed Jeff's number. "It's me."

"Where are you?" Jeff asked.

"Outside the crummy fast food place on 12th street over in Sector 5," Becky said. "I'm tailing 662. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened yet. I just wanted to check in while I had the chance to do it."

"Okay. Don't forget to let me know if you need anything," Jeff said.

"I will, don't worry. Are you nearby right now?" Becky asked.

"Not exactly, I'm back at my place," Jeff said. "I could be there in just minutes on my bike if you need any help."

"Thanks, Jeff," Becky said.

"You're welcome," Jeff said. "Take it easy, okay?"

"I'll try," Becky said. "I'll talk to you later." She disconnected and turned back to the fast food restaurant and continued to observe 662.

_It's nice to have somebody who's not related to you in some way be that concerned. Jeff really is a great friend. He's got to be one of the best if not the best friend I have outside of my family._

Becky looked back up when she saw 662 leave the fast food restaurant and continue on and continued to follow her. _She's heading north. Crap, Max and Zack had better have left by now!_

* * *

"Great," Max said angrily. "This would have to happen to us. Only I would pick up a nail when trying to leave town. Something always happens. Rain or shine or whatever, something always has to happen to us. It's got to be written in one of those unwritten books somewhere."

"Stay calm," Zack said. "It's not that bad."

"But you still wish that Zane was here?" Max said. She was only half-teasing.

"That would be handy, but they did teach all of us to be able to make at least some mechanical repairs before we left Manticore the first time around," Zack said. "We could either find a place to get a new tire and then we could have it on the bike in minutes or we can hide the bike and call Becky or Jeff or Maggie or Alec and have them come and get it later and then you'd just ride on my bike up to Vancouver. Do you know if there's any place where we could make the repair up ahead that's close by? If there isn't within a reasonable range, we're going to have to leave your bike behind."

"Damn," Max said. "There is a place up ahead about a mile that's closer to the beach. I've used them before. Is that close enough or should we ride on your bike and hide mine?"

Zack thought about it for a few moments. "That should be good enough. Let me call Becky and let her know what the slight change in plan is." He took out his cell phone and speed dialed Becky's number and held the phone in one hand as he wheeled his bike alongside Max with the other. "Becky, it's me."

"Zack, are you on the road yet?" Becky asked. She sounded worried.

"What's going on?" Zack said.

"I'm watching 662 tonight. She's on the move and heading north. Where are you guys right now?" Becky said.

"Max blew a tire and we're heading to a repair shop less than a mile from our current location," Zack said. "It's close by the ocean, if that helps."

"I do know which place you're talking about and it might right now, as long as...shit, she's heading west towards the ocean. Get there now and hide until she passes. She's going to be too close to your location," Becky said.

"Got it," Zack said. He disconnected and turned to Max. "We've got to hurry. Becky said that 662 is heading this way."

* * *

Becky followed 662 out to the beach. She could just make out the repair shop ahead of her on her right. The beach was pretty much abandoned. Nobody wanted to be around the water in late November. She froze and zoomed in on something that she'd seen in the corner of her eye.

_Damn, that's Max and Zack! I hope that 662 didn't see them! Though if I did, she almost certainly saw them, too._

She looked ahead of her and saw the 662 had indeed seen them. Without even a smile or a sigh, 662 took off her backpack and began pulling out the contents. Becky quickly recognized them as the pieces of a sniper rifle and she felt her heart sink. She took a deep breath and walked up to 662. "It's been a long time, 662."

* * *

"We're here," Max said. "I—oh, no. Zack, down there on the beach."

Zack zoomed in and saw 662. "Damn, she's spotted us."

"Becky's not going to do something, will she?" Max said.

"She's got no choice," Zack said. "I guess all we can do is hope that 662 doesn't kill her."

"We've got to do something," Max said. "We can't just let Becky face off against 662 alone."

"If we need to," Zack promised. They continued to watch the two X6s.

* * *

662 jumped and turned around and blinked in surprise when she saw Becky. "405? It really has been a long time. What are you doing here?"

"I'm just around, like you seem to be," Becky said. "No specific purpose just yet. How about you? You look like you have something to do."

662 nodded. "I'm carrying out my mission as ordered. I am to capture all of the remaining rogue X5s and if I am unable to establish contact with base, I am to terminate the X5s on sight. I haven't been able to contact the base since it was attacked, so I am going to terminate 599 and 452."

"662, I'm afraid that you're going to have to abort your mission," Becky said.

"What?" 662 said. "I wasn't told that I had to abort my mission. I know I haven't been successful since I started my mission after the attack on the base, but that shouldn't be cause for me to abort it."

"662, the base wasn't attacked. Not by outside forces, at any rate," Becky said. "Director Renfro betrayed us all and burnt it down herself. If it wasn't for X5-452, we would all have died in the fire."

"You're lying," 662 said. "If you'll excuse me, 405, I have to complete my mission."

"I have no reason to lie to you, 662," Becky said. "There's no more Manticore and there's no mission anymore for you to complete."

"You're lying," 662 repeated.

_This is not good. Please, just listen to me and stop!_ "X6-662, as your commanding officer, I am ordering you to abort the mission," Becky snapped. _If she's a robotic soldier, maybe she'll respond to being treated like one!_

"You are no longer my commanding officer, 405," 662 said. "After I recovered from my brain injury, I was reassigned away from your unit."

_It's still your unit, too!_ "Nobody ever told me that," Becky said coolly. "Nobody even had the decency to tell me that you were alive. And I no longer go by my designation if I can help it, 662. My name is Becky."

"You can go by whatever aliases that you choose, 405," 662 said. "But I still need to complete my mission. You were my commanding officer and so I am offering you the courtesy of leaving unharmed so that I may complete my task."

Becky felt her heart break in two. "I'm sorry, 662, I can't let you complete your mission."

"I can't let anybody interfere with the completion of the mission," 662 said.

Becky whipped out the taser and hit the button, but 662 jumped out of the way, kicked the taser out of Becky's hand, and hit Becky, sending her flying a few feet down the beach. Becky got up and went flying at 662, but 662 tossed her aside.

"You've gotten better than the last time I sparred against you," Becky said.

"I'm much better than you ever will be, 405," 662 said. "Now stand aside so that I can complete my mission."

"I can't," Becky said. She attacked 662 again. 662 blocked a few attempted punches before she kicked Becky and sent her down the beach again.

* * *

"Becky's getting her ass kicked," Max said as she and Zack watched Becky and 662 continue their fight. "Do you think that you can get a shot off at 662 from here, Zack?"

"With the gun that I have on me now? It's possible, but the trickiest part is being able to shoot without killing either 662 or Becky by accident," Zack said. He took out the gun and tried to aim it at 662.

* * *

662 looked up and saw Zack taking out his gun and reached down to grab her rifle, only to have it kicked from her hand and then be sent several feet down the beach as a result of Becky's foot coming in contact with her stomach.

"It sucks when it happens to you, doesn't it?" Becky said as she moved it to hit 662, only for 662 to block her attack and hit her again.

"You have no reason to interfere," 662 said.

"Oh, come on," Becky said. "Can't you see the family resemblance? Everyone else can."

"You and 599?" 662 said.

"His name is Zack," Becky said as she barely managed to avoid getting punched.

"Choosing your flesh and blood over me, your former unit mate," 662 said.

Becky felt her stomach drop. "I didn't choose him over you, 662, I chose you both. And you are not the sister that I knew."

"Sister? Sister? We were unit mates, not family," 662 said.

"The old 662 would disagree with that," Becky said. "I wish that you were her."

She attacked 662, but was constantly beaten back. 662 would hardly let Becky get an attack in, no matter how hard she tried. Nothing got through to 662.

"I thought you were better than this, 405," 662 said as she stared down at Becky, who was lying on the beach, exhausted and breathing heavily. "I thought you could handle fighting me. You always have before."

"That was...before you turned...into...a cybernetically...enhanced living robot," Becky gasped. She tried to get up but didn't have the energy to. "662...please...don't kill them. Don't kill any of them."

"I'm sorry, 405," 662 said. "I have to." She turned and walked back to where her rifle was laying on the sand. She picked it up and took aim.

"No!" Becky yelled. _Zack and Max are not going to die!_ She felt the adrenaline shoot though her and she jumped up and went flying at 662, kicking 662 hard in the head before 662 could block it, knocking 662 down. She looked over and saw her taser lying in the sand and grabbed it and hit the button and nailed 662 with it before she could react. Becky watched 662 trying to get to her despite the electricity, but she held the button down until 662 finally collapsed onto the sand and stopped trying to get to her. She sighed and released the button and passed out, completely exhausted.

* * *

"She's not going to do it," Zack realized. He felt his heart sink when he saw how exhausted Becky was becoming after that long of so intense of a fight. "Becky's not going to be able to convince or defeat 662."

"She's got to be able to," Max said. "Huh, 662 is letting Becky live?"

"Maybe there's a part of her still alive after all," Zack said. He froze. "Max, run—wait, Becky's up?"

"She took her down," Max said. "She got her with the taser. She did it, Zack."

"I hope the she's okay," Zack said as they saw Becky collapse onto the beach. They ran down to them and Zack knelt down next to Becky. "Becky? Wake up, baby sister. You stopped her."

"I did?" Becky mumbled. She opened her eyes and saw 662 lying on the beach. Her eyes widened when she saw that 662 was not moving and didn't appear to be breathing. "Oh God, I killed her! I killed my little sister."

"Shit," Max swore. She ran over to 662 and started doing CPR.

"I killed my own sister," Becky said. She felt Zack hug her and started sobbing. "I killed my own sister. How could I have done that?"

"Wait!" Max yelled. "She's got a pulse. She's breathing on her own." She quickly moved back to where Becky and Zack were.

662 slowly sat up and groaned. She blinked when she saw Becky sitting with Zack and Max, all bruised and cut up from the fight and felt tears in her own eyes. "Becky? Oh my God, what did I do to you?"

Becky couldn't believe it. "662? Is it really you?"

"I'm so sorry I hurt you," 662 sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wanted to kill your big brother and his family."

Becky felt herself grinning and managed to get the energy to crawl over to her little sister and hug her. "It's okay, 662, everything's okay now."

"Can you...can you call me something else?" 662 asked. "I don't want to go by my designation if I can help it, either."

Becky thought for a moment. "Do you like Felicia?"

"I do," she said. "That sounds neat."

"It does," Becky agreed. She hugged her sister again. "Welcome back, Felicia."

TBC


	58. Chapter 53

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Alec knocked at the apartment door and patiently waited for someone to answer it. A few moments later, the door opened and Brin was standing there. "Hey, Brin. I got the book that you wanted to bring with me and I told Normal that I was going to be getting in late to work today. Why is it so important that we choose names today? The baby's not going to be born for almost two-and-a-half months."

"It never hurts to be prepared," Brin said as she stepped aside to let Alec enter the apartment.

"This has got to be one of those hormonal things," Alec muttered. Brin smacked him across the back of his head. "I'd say that was one of them too, but I get smacked like that often enough by Max and Becky and Original Cindy back in the city."

"Will you guys shut up? I'm trying to put on my makeup," Maggie yelled from the bathroom. "I might be a transgenic, but it still requires some degree of concentration for me to put it all on properly!"

Alec shook his head. "Teenage girls. Please let the baby be a boy. Were you like that when you were sixteen, Brin?"

Brin thought for a moment. "Yeah, I kinda was like that when I was Maggie's age."

"I can hear you," Maggie said. "If you want to talk about me, can you have the decency to talk soft enough so that it's out of my range?"

"Speaking of—" Alec started to say, but Brin cut him off.

"Unless you want her to run out of the bathroom and smack you, you should keep your mouth shut," she pointed out.

"Good call," Alec agreed. He handed Brin the baby name book. "Well, here it is. I guess we should get started looking through the thing." He looked at Brin again. "We are having only one kid, right? I know that I am an actual identical twin and from what I've heard, twins usually skip a generation, but you never know."

"We're definitely having only one baby," Brin said. "I can only hear one heartbeat in there." She sat down on the couch and opened the book. "Do you want to choose a boy's name first or a girl's name?"

"I don't care," Alec said. "I guess a girl's name first. Do you want to name the baby after one of your sibs?"

"I don't know," Brin said. "It's something that I've thought of, but I haven't really decided on yet. Do you want to do that?"

Alec shrugged. "I don't know, myself. I guess people like Max and everybody would probably be expecting us to name the baby after Ben if it turns out to be a boy, but isn't that too obvious? I've accepted who my brother was and what he did and I don't hold any grudge at all for his actions getting me thrown in Psy Ops for awhile, and I'll admit it, I do wish that I had gotten to know him and had a real brother-brother relationship with him, but I really don't know about naming the baby after him. I've got a feeling that he probably wouldn't want that." He smirked. "Maybe it's a twin thing."

Brin laughed. "I'll take your word for it. So back to girl's names. Is there anything that you like right off the top of your head?"

"I don't know," Alec said. "I kind of like Gina. And no, she is not the name of a stripper that I saw in a club."

"I might be Max's sister, but I am not Max," Brin said. She looked amused.

"Sorry," Alec said. "I've gotten so used to having her say that kind of remark to me that it's pretty much automatic pilot."

"That's okay," Brin said. "I actually like that name. I guess it'll be Gina if it's a girl. If you don't want to pick out a middle name now, it's okay."

"I never understood middle names," Alec said.

"I'll see you guys later. I've got to go to work," Maggie said. "Another day answering phones and getting coffee and doing whatever for that moron Dr. Dickhead. I know more than he does and I'm only sixteen. That would wipe that smile off of his face."

"It would also get you fired if they knew your real age," Alec said.

Maggie glared at him. "No shit. You'll be into work later, right, Brin? Or is this your day off?"

"I'll be in later. For some reason, they don't need me to come in until noon," Brin said.

"Cool. I'll see you both later." Maggie left.

"You haven't throttled her yet?" Alec asked.

"You just annoy everybody," Brin said. "Maggie's a nice girl. Besides, she'll probably gonna be the one who'll end up delivering the baby. You do know that, right?"

"I know," Alec said.

"Come on," Brin said. "Let's think of a name for a boy."

"Alec, Junior?" Alec said, grinning.

Brin made a face. "No offense, Alec, but I don't like the whole junior thing."

"I was only kidding. I don't like it either," Alec said. He watched as Brin flipped through the book. "Brad?"

"That sound too cutesy when you say it and my name in the same sentence," Brin said. "Brin and Brad? It sounds like I'm the one who has a twin. I vote that we do not choose a name that starts with the letters b and r."

"That sounds reasonable," Alec said. "Casey?"

"No," Brin said. "I hate that name. Carl?"

"That sounds way too dumb," Alec said. "Charles or Charlie?"

"Nah," Brin said. "I never really liked that name, either."

"This is gonna take awhile," Alec said. "I guess you were right when you said that we should pick the names out now instead of waiting until it was closer to your due date." Brin grabbed a pillow and started to throw it at him, but Alec grabbed it from Brin as she was about to throw it and their eyes met for a moment before Alec looked away. "Um..."

"Sorry," Brin said.

"I should get going now before Normal really goes ballistic," Alec said. "I said I was going to be late, but he'll go crazy if I'm too late getting to Jam Pony."

"Okay," Brin said. "It's no problem. We can always finish picking out a name later."

"I'll call you later," Alec said. He got up off of the couch and walked to the door. "'Bye, Brin."

"Good-bye," Brin said.

Alec walked into the hallway and shut the door behind him. He looked at it for a few moments before he sighed and started to walk back towards the elevator.

TBC


	59. Chapter 54

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda."

"Why are we eating lunch outside?" Sketchy complained that afternoon as he, Max, Becky, Alec, Original Cindy, and Jeff sat around an outdoor table at a restaurant close to Jam Pony on their lunch break. "It's the beginning of December, for crying out loud!"

"Because us girls didn't want to have our asses grabbed by those morons that were sitting by that window," Max said.

"It's only a little chilly outside," Becky said. "It's kind of warm for this time of the year. You want cold weather for this time of year? Move to where Max and I used to live when we were little kids. That's cold. There's not even snow on the ground here."

"Yeah, fool, just shut up and eat your sandwich," Original Cindy said.

"Fine," Sketchy muttered.

"No need for us to be sniping at each other," Alec said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sketchy said.

"What's gotten into you, Sketchy?" Max said. "You're not usually this grouchy."

"I don't know," Sketchy said. He shrugged. "Maybe it's the weather. Either that or I'm starting to come down with a cold. I'm usually acting like this right before I get sick. Remember the time last year when I got the flu and how bad of a mood I was in right before I missed those two days of work?"

"Normal was ready to go over to your apartment and drag your ass out of bed and to work because he didn't believe that you were sick," Original Cindy said.

"Speaking of sick, check out this newspaper that somebody left here," Becky said. She held out the newspaper that she'd found lying on the table next to theirs. "Check out the big story on the front page. 'Man Found Shot to Death in Front of Home.' It's some allegedly gang related drive-by. The sick part is that they included a picture of the guy who'd gotten shot, bullet holes and blood and all." _I actually think that picture isn't so bad. I've seen way more blood and way more bullet holes at one time than the guy in the picture. Not to mention that if I had been the one to attack that guy, I wouldn't have made as much of a mess._

"Really? Let me see," Sketchy said eagerly. He grabbed the newspaper from Becky's hand and looked at it. "Cool! The picture's even full color!"

"Give me that," Alec said. He took the newspaper from Sketchy. "This isn't so bad. You see a lot worse in the movies." He was about to say more when another story on the front page caught his eye and he quickly handed the newspaper over to Jeff. "So, how long before we should get back to Jam Pony?"

Max looked at him suspiciously. "We've got about twenty minutes before we have to get back there. Why?"

"I'm not too hungry right now," Alec said. He played with the half a sandwich he had left.

Max looked at him for a moment before she looked over at Becky, who just shrugged, and then looked over at Jeff, who was reading the front page of the newspaper and who had a thoughtful look on his face. "Jeff? You gonna share the paper?"

Jeff caught onto what Max was really saying. "Yeah, maybe later."

They finished their lunch and went back to Jam Pony. Max and Becky and Jeff discretely kept an eye on Alec for the rest of the day. When they were all finally done for the day, they said good-bye to each other and watched as Alec rode back to his apartment. Max and Becky both turned to Jeff as soon as Alec was out of hearing range. "So, what's the deal with Alec? If any of us would have a clue, you'd be the guy."

"I'm not entirely positive, Max," Jeff said. "But I definitely have an idea. Do either of you know that Alec had been put into Psy Ops about three months before the fire after a botched solo deep cover mission that he'd been on?"

They both nodded. "The night he came back into Max's cell and caught us planning to get in contact with Zack and to get Max and Zack back out of Manticore, he mentioned that six months before then he'd screwed up a mission," Becky said. "He didn't go into any details."

"I don't think I know all of the details myself," Jeff admitted. "What I do know is pretty much from word of mouth." He sighed. "Alec had what was pretty much a sterling record at Manticore before this mission, other than being thrown into Psy Ops back in 2009 after his brother and Max and the rest of their family escaped. He's the commanding officer of all of the Seattle X5s and it seemed like he could do no wrong. I know that a lot of us male X6s looked up to him. Anyway, like I said, about four months before the fire, they sent him on a deep cover solo mission to keep tabs on a guy. I don't know the guys name but I heard that he was one of Manticore's financial backers or something like that. I heard the guy's name was Berrisford. He was gone for almost a month and when he got back they took him right to Psy Ops. You guys or at least Becky knows that when anybody gets thrown into Psy Ops, the rumors go crazy. You think soldiers don't like to gossip? Think again. Some people were thinking that Alec was going to bail like Ben did years ago and some people were thinking that he'd just lost it and nobody knew what the real deal was. I did hear that they were originally going to keep him in Psy Ops for six months, but then Max and Zack and one of their brothers and one of their sisters went and blew the DNA lab over in Wyoming and they decided that they had more pressing needs than to keep Alec in Psy Ops for an additional three months so they checked him out, declared him to be good as new, and threw him back in with the rest of us."

"For him to get thrown into Psy Ops for what was supposed to be six months, it must have been something major. Heck, even for him to get thrown in there for three months," Becky said. "The longest at least in Gillette for someone to be in Psy Ops not counting the X2s that were in the basement was when this X4 was provoked by one of her unit mates when they were training in the yard one day and just snapped and almost killed the guy who'd provoked her. She was in Psy Ops for a full year."

"I saw that," Max said. "I was seven when it happened and we were in lineup a little farther down the yard waiting to be sent out to begin our Escape and Evade exercise. That was scary." She shuddered and turned her attention back to Jeff. "What exactly was on the newspaper, then?"

"It was an article about the man that Alec was supposed to have spied on during the mission," Jeff said. "It was just an article about some huge charity event that he was sponsoring. It just went on and on about the event and how something of that magnitude hadn't been put on since before the Pulse and there was even a little paragraph or two about the guy's family."

"His family? What about them?" Becky asked.

"The guy's single. His wife died four years ago and he hasn't remarried. He has one daughter. Her name's Rachel and she's about a year older than me and Becky and she's in a coma as a result of what the article called a mysterious car accident. It didn't mention specifics about the accident," Jeff said.

"Do you think it has something to do with the daughter?" Max wondered. "That's the only explanation I can think of for Alec reacting to seeing the article the way that he did."

"I don't know," Jeff said. "I told you that I didn't have all of the details."

"I guess we'll only know when Alec decides to tell us," Becky said.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "I should get going back to my place. I'll see both of you later, okay?"

"See you later," Max agreed.

TBC


	60. Chapter 55

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** More spoilers and spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda."

Alec was still relatively quiet when he got back to his apartment that night after hanging out with his friends at Crash. He took off his jacket and sat down on a chair and turned on the TV and watched for a minute or two before he got up and went into the kitchen. He saw the light blinking on his answering machine, so he pressed it and listened to the message while he dug out some food from the refrigerator.

"Alec, it's Brin. Max and Becky and Jeff called me when I was at work and they told me that you had been acting a little off this afternoon and I was wondering if everything was okay. Call me if you need anything. I might come over tonight anyway at some point after I get back from work. I'll talk to you later. 'Bye."

"Figures they'd go blabbing it around," he said to himself as he grabbed a fork and started eating the leftover Chinese food that he'd found. He'd only had a few bites when the doorbell rang. He rolled his eyes. "All that time I spent in Psy Ops must have given me psychic powers." He went over to the door and when he opened it, he saw not only Brin standing there, but Max and Becky and Jeff as well. "It's a whole party here tonight."

"We were worried about you." Max said.

"I've been fine all day," Alec said. "There's nothing to be worried about. Honest."

"You were pretty quiet all afternoon," Becky said. "You didn't make any smart remarks at work, you didn't even try to antagonize Max, and you were just sitting in the corner at the table at Crash tonight. You didn't even want to play Sketchy for money at pool and you never miss an opportunity to do that, no matter how much any of us tell you how crappy that is of you."

"Even I can have a bad day. It's not unheard of for somebody to actually have a bad day once in awhile. Remember?" Alec said.

"I want to know who are you and what you did with Alec," Jeff said. "If that was a bad day, then I must be on cloud nine right now in comparison."

"All right, sit the hell down and I'll spill the whole story," Alec said. He waited until they had sat down on either the couch or the floor before he sat back down in his chair. "I'm gonna guess that the whole story never leaked out because if it had, Jeff would have found out and told you and you would have been telling me how sorry you guys are for me and crap like that."

"I only heard what I guess were the basics," Jeff said.

"Here's the entire story then," Alec said. "I got called into Renfro's office about four months or so before the DNA lab got blown up. They wanted to send me on a solo deep cover mission. Robert Berrisford was involved with Manticore. He supplied funds and medical equipment through his company. Somehow, Manticore heard rumors that he was going to withdraw his support and possibly expose them. They decided to put somebody in to keep an eye on him and they decided to send me. My cover was as Berrisford's daughter's piano teacher so I actually learned how to play the piano before I left. I was sent out, killed the real piano teacher, and went to Berrisford's mansion as planned and I met Berrisford and the daughter. Her name was Rachel. I taught her piano and I kept an eye on her father, just like I had been instructed to do."

"This is the part where you tell us that something happened that you weren't quite expecting, right?" Max said.

Alec nodded. "I wasn't expecting Rachel. I knew she existed and helping her with her piano playing was part of my cover on the mission, but I wasn't expecting her to be so nice and so funny and so pretty and so…everything. It was the weirdest thing. I actually started to seriously like her. We became just about best friends pretty quickly and one night I realized that it was becoming something more than that. We didn't sleep together, don't worry. I'd been invited to a party that her dad was throwing and she and I ended up going outside for awhile and we kissed and I realized how much I had fallen for her. Yes, I was in love. I was actually in love with Rachel."

"Wow," Brin said quietly. "What happened?"

"Manticore did," Alec said bitterly. He paused before he continued with the story. "Almost a month into the mission, I confirmed what Manticore had suspected. Berrisford was making the arrangements to withdraw his support from them and was seriously considering exposing them. When I checked in with my superiors and showed them the evidence, I was ordered to plant a bomb in the Berrisfords' car within the week so that both Rachel and her father would be taken out. They wanted Rachel to be killed as well because they were afraid that her father had told her everything, even though I knew and had no evidence to support that. I pointed that out to them, but they ordered me to do it anyway."

"Did you really plant the bomb?" Becky asked.

"I didn't," Alec said. "My plan was to warn Rachel and make sure that she and her father were safely hidden away before planting the bomb in their car and detonating it to make it look to Manticore that I had carried out my orders. The next day, I showed up to the house for Rachel's piano lesson as usual, but Rachel's father told me that he was taking Rachel into the city for awhile to do some shopping for something that she needed for school and that the lesson would be delayed by an hour and that I was free to stay around the house until they got back. He and Rachel said good-bye to me and they got into their car. After they had gotten in, I heard a clicking noise. I knew what the noise was. It was a bomb that had just been armed from a distance by a remote. Manticore must have gotten a little impatient and had someone else plant the bomb. I knew that logically, whoever it was from Manticore was probably close enough to hear me either on their own or with listening devices, but I didn't care. I screamed for them to get out of the car and run. Rachel's father managed to get to a safe distance from the car, but Rachel wasn't able to get far enough. The explosion threw her forward and I saw her hit her head. I thought she'd died." Alec frowned. "I guess they must have gotten me and taken me back to the facility then because the next thing I remember, I was in Psy Ops. I guess they decided that Berrisford had enough of a scare because he's obviously still alive."

"Holy shit," Jeff said.

"You were really in love with her," Max said. "I don't know what to say. I'm sorry doesn't cover it nearly enough."

"Thank you," Alec said.

"You want to see Rachel again, don't you?" Brin asked.

"I would," Alec said. "It said she was in a coma, but it didn't say where she was being treated. I don't know where she is. It's not like I can just ask her father. He probably figured out that I had been sent to kill him and changed my mind at the last minute. The guy probably wants to strangle me if he has the chance."

"One of us could find out," Becky suggested. "That article mentioned that charity event that he was throwing. One of us could get in and find out where Rachel is. That's the least suspicious way that I can think of. Brin obviously can't go and we'd have to disguise ourselves, but that seems like the most viable option."

"That does sound like a good idea," Alec agreed. "Who wants to go do this?"

"I could go," Jeff said. "I could pass for at least eighteen."

"Yeah, especially since your birthday is in two-and-a-half weeks," Becky teased.

"Knock it off, you guys," Max said. "Come on. Let's get back to our homes. We'll plan the rest of this all out later." She and Becky and Jeff left the apartment. Brin lingered behind.

"If you need anything, let me know," she said.

Alec shook his head. "I'm fine. You should be getting back to your place and get some sleep. It can't be good for the baby if you're staying up late and worrying about me."

"You're my friend," Brin said. "I'm going to worry about you no matter what. The baby will be just fine. I should get back to my apartment and get some sleep, though. I am getting a little tired. The rugrat hasn't even been born yet and he or she is already starting to sap my energy."

"That's my kid," Alec said. He smiled a little.

Brin smiled too and gave one of Alec's hands a squeeze. "I'll see you later." She turned and left the apartment.

TBC


	61. Chapter 56

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda."

"How do I look?" Jeff asked as he stood in front of Max and Becky and Alec in his "borrowed" tux.

"Damn," Max said. "I'm impressed." She moved to ruffle Jeff's temporarily blond hair but Jeff grabbed her hand before she could do that.

"Watch the 'do," he said, grinning. "I can't go to some fancy charity thing looking like I just raced you guys on our bikes, now can I?"

"You look fantastic," Becky said. "Are you planning on returning the tux that you snagged or are you just going to keep the thing?"

"I'm going to return it," Jeff said. "Not out of the goodness of my heart, though. The people who own the shop where I picked it up are complete assholes. When I went to the shop yesterday afternoon to check it out and all of that, the first thing I got was some snide 'Prom was at least six months ago' remark." He grinned wickedly. "I hope they'll like the tux when it's returned with a nice red wine stain on it. Seriously, though, I don't need to keep a tux around. I don't need it."

"You look like you're all set," Alec said. "Got the barcode removed?"

"Four days ago," Jeff confirmed. "I'm definitely all set. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Alec said. "I'll drop you off close to the mansion and then you're on your own from there. I guess we'll be seeing you ladies later."

"We'll see you both later," Max said. She got up off the floor. "Come on, Becky. I'll drop you off at your apartment on the way to mine."

"Okay," Becky said. "Have fun at the party tonight, Jeff. I hope you don't get too bored."

"Thanks," Jeff said. He and Alec waited for Becky and Max to leave Jeff's apartment before they left it. Jeff locked the door and they went down to the garage and got into Alec's car.

"If you have to break into Mr. Berrisford's office, watch for the floorboard that's dead ahead of you that's right in front of the desk," Alec said. "When I was there, it squeaked like hell and I don't know if he's gotten it fixed."

"Got it," Jeff said.

Alec pulled up to the curb a block away from the mansion. "There it is, just up the block. Have fun and don't steal anything that they'll notice right away."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "That'd be my line to you."

"Very funny," Alec said. "Good luck." He drove off.

Jeff walked up the block and up the Berrisfords' drive to the front door and rang the bell. He gave the doorman a grin and showed him his "invitation" and walked inside. He blinked in surprise at the sight of so many people dressed up so well. The last time he'd been in a room with at least this many people in it at one time was back in the cafeteria at Manticore and they definitely hadn't been dressed as nicely as these people.

_This is insane! I've never seen anything like this. Not even when I was on missions._ He walked around for awhile and chatted to a few people that he came across. He discretely scanned the room. _There's Berrisford. He's talking to some guys over there. I don't recognize any of the men that he's talking to. I wonder if that's a good thing or not?_ He accepted a glass of champagne when a waiter offered it to him and sipped it while he listened to Berrisford's conversation.

"This is a hell of a bash you've got going, Robert," one of the men said. "This is going to bring in a hell of a lot of money for the foundation."

"I know," Mr. Berrisford said. "It's something else."

One of the other men leaned forward and spoke in a quieter voice. "Have you heard anything from your former…clients?"

"No, I haven't," Mr. Berrisford said in an equally quiet voice. He sighed. "They haven't contacted me in months."

"I can't believe you still supplied them with equipment and money after Rachel was injured," the third man said.

"If I didn't, they would have come back and killed Rachel and then me. They made that extremely clear to me when they called me at the hospital the night that Rachel was injured. I wasn't going to risk my daughter's life any more than I already had," Mr. Berrisford said. "They reminded me every time I made a delivery to them after the explosion. I think they decided that they wanted to kill me mentally. From what I had found out about them, it sounded like something that they would do." He took a sip of his wine. "We shouldn't even be discussing this right now. I might not have heard from them for awhile, but that doesn't mean that maybe one of those kids like the one that posed as Rachel's piano teacher are hear spying on me for them."

_I'm here and I'm spying on you, but I'm sure as hell not spying for them,_ Jeff thought.

"Good point," the first man said. "Speaking of Rachel, though, how is she doing?"

"She's still comatose," Mr. Berrisford said. "The doctor's don't know when or if she'll wake up. At this point, they're seriously doubting that she'll ever wake up."

"They're taking good care of her over at Seaside, right?" the second man asked.

"Of course," Mr. Berrisford said. "I'm not paying them all that money just so that they can put my name on a new wing." That got a laugh out of the other men. "Why don't we go over to my office and we'll continue this conversation there." He and the other men left the room.

Jeff nodded to himself and quickly finished his champagne before he discretely left the room and the mansion. He walked down the block and pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hey, Alec, it's me."

"That was fast. It's barely been half an hour," Alec said. "What's up? Where is she?"

"Berrisford mentioned some place called Seaside. He didn't say whether it was a hospital or just some facility where they care for coma patients or what," Jeff said. "He and some other men went into his office, so I couldn't slip in there and dig up an address, so I decided to leave."

"That's okay," Alec said. "I'll call up either Brin or Becky and ask one of them to do a search on their computers on that name. Seriously, Jeff, thanks a lot. This means a lot to me."

"You're welcome," Jeff said. "You need a favor and I'll do it for you, buddy."

"Thanks," Alec said. "I'll swing by there to pick you up. I'll meet you where I dropped you off, okay?"

"That works for me," Jeff said. "I'll see you soon." He disconnected smiled a little and waited for Alec.

TBC


	62. Chapter 57

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** I'm really sorry if this sucks, but I'm not very good at writing this kind of stuff either. More spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda" as well as for "…And Jesus Brought A Casserole" and "Designate This."

Alec stood behind Jeff in the security office of the Seaside Medical and Rehabilitation Center and watched as Jeff hacked his way through the center's security cameras. "What do you think? Everything look good so far?"

"Everything looks pretty good," Jeff agreed. "The place doesn't have a lot of guards patrolling the hallways, even for this time of night, and we've already put these two losers to sleep." He pointed to the unconscious security guards in the corner of the room. "The coma patients are located in the east wing on the third floor. Just tell me which patient is Rachel and we'll be all set."

"I will," Alec said. He watched as Jeff flipped through the security camera footage of various patients' rooms. "Stop there. That's Rachel." He sighed in frustration. "Great, her father's here tonight."

"Should we bail out and try again tomorrow night?" Jeff asked. "We can just tell Max that we're going to try again tomorrow and then the three of us will meet Becky at the car and we'll leave."

"He's going to have to leave," Alec said. "From the recon that we did this afternoon, visitors aren't supposed to stay overnight, but then again, Berrisford's so damn rich he probably paid them so that he can stay as long as he wants with Rachel."

"What do you want to do? It's your call," Jeff said.

Alec thought for a few moments. "Let's wait for a few moments and see if Berrisford decides to go home."

"All right," Jeff said. They waited and continued to watch the security camera feed from Rachel's room. After a few minutes, they saw Mr. Berrisford pick up his jacket and leave Rachel's room. "Looks like you're good to go. She's in room 372."

"Thanks," Alec said. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Jeff said.

Alec nodded and left the security office and went to the stairs and quickly walked up to the third floor. He opened the door and started to head in the direction of Rachel's room. He found it without any trouble and paused and took a deep breath and tried to control the butterflies in his stomach. He started to open the door when he heard Jeff's voice coming from the earpiece that he was wearing. "Jeff, what was that?"

"He's heading back to the room," Jeff said. "You need to get out of there now."

"Where is he?" Alec asked.

"About to get out of the elevator," Jeff said quietly. "He's right near you."

Alec sighed. "I'll deal with this. Don't worry. If I need help, I'll let you know."

"Okay," Jeff said. He sounded a little worried, but he didn't say anything else.

Mr. Berrisford stopped in his tracks when he spotted Alec. "You. You're the bastard who put my daughter here."

"I guess so. If I had decided not to warn you that somebody else from Manticore had planted a bomb in your car, then she'd definitely be dead now," Alec said.

"How could you?" Mr. Berrisford said. "How could you have spied on us and just played my daughter like that? Do you think that I'm an idiot, Mr.—hell, I don't know what your real name is or if they even gave you kids names with those damn numbers. I know my Rachel very well and I knew the look that she would give you. Her mother gave me that exact same look around the time that I'm guessing that you would have been in diapers."

"I never messed with Rachel's feelings," Alec said. "I was sent to spy on you. They gave me a mission and I went to perform the mission as I had been ordered. That was what my life was like back then. Things changed when I met Rachel. I still don't know what it was, but she changed everything for me. It was the first time in my life that I didn't know what the hell I was going to do. Actually, I knew what I was going to do. I didn't know exactly how I was going to do it."

"Really?" Mr. Berrisford said. "I thought that they taught you how to plant a bomb."

"Yes, they did when I was seven years old," Alec said. "You know exactly what I meant, but since you don't want to admit it, I'll go right out and say it. I was in love with your daughter. I still love Rachel. I didn't want to kill her. I had no plans to kill her or you. You were the first people who were genuinely nice to me. You weren't nice to me because you were supposed to pretend to be, you actually were nice. I didn't want to destroy that. They ordered me to take out you and Rachel when I found the proof that you were close to exposing us, but I wasn't going to do that. I planned to fake the explosion when you and Rachel had gotten back from the city and gotten you two away."

"I'm sure you were," Mr. Berrisford said. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't believe a word that you're saying."

"That's cool. I don't blame you there," Alec said. "The point is that I want to apologize for spying on you for Manticore."

"Apologize?" Mr. Berrisford said. "You know what would be an apology? Bringing my daughter back to me. She is the best part of my life and until you have children of your own, not that Manticore will ever let you, you'll never understand why I won't accept your apology."

"Funny you should mention that," Alec said. "I will be having a child of my own in about two, two-and-a-half months from now. Manticore did allow it. They allowed his or her conception, anyway. I'd have to be an idiot not to figure out that you're curious about why Manticore hasn't contacted you in months so I'll play nice and fill you in on that. Manticore's DNA lab was located in it's facility over in Wyoming. Three months after Rachel was injured, four of the rogue Manticore soldiers—I'm assuming that you know at least a little about them—went back home and blew up the DNA lab. The funding to Manticore was cut and they consolidated everything to their facility which was located fairly close to here. They wanted more soldiers and since they couldn't splice and dice them together and put 'em in some nice young lady, they had us older soldiers get together and make new soldiers the old fashioned way. Then Eyes Only for whatever reason decided that he was going to try to expose Manticore. He didn't do it, but he got too close for the committee that was in charge of Manticore's comfort and they ordered the director to torch the place, which she did. Most of us got out, the mother of my unborn baby included."

"It's gone?" Berrisford said. "It's really gone?"

"It's really gone," Alec said.

"So what are you doing now? You still claim to love Rachel but you're having a nice relationship with the mother of your child?" Berrisford said.

"I never said that I was in a relationship with the mother of my child," Alec said. "We're friends. I do love Rachel. I came to see her and apologize to her too. I need to see her. You can be in the room if you want if you still don't believe that I won't hurt her."

Berrisford sighed and opened the door to Rachel's room. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," Alec said. He walked inside Rachel's room and sat down in a chair next to the bed and ignored the fact that her father was watching them from the doorway. "Hey, Rachel. I'm sorry it took me so long to come here to see you but I couldn't help it. Okay, that was a bad excuse but it's unfortunately the truth. Rachel, I want to say how sorry I am for…everything. If I hadn't come into your life, you wouldn't be lying here in this bed. You'd be in school right now complaining to your father about how bad your professors are and being with your friends and maybe dating a guy." He tried to shake off the jealousy that he felt when he said that. "The last time you were this quiet was the day that we met. You didn't say anything to me other than 'Hello, I'm Rachel' and your dad said to me that you were shy around strangers but that you were so talkative when you got to know people. He was right. I never minded listening to you talk. You have the sweetest voice. I wish that I'd told you that before. I wish that we'd gotten to go out on our real date. I remember the day I'd asked you on the date, don't you? It was two days before…the last day I saw you before tonight and we were finishing our lesson and you looked so proud of yourself because you had mastered that one part that you'd been having trouble with and your smile was just so beautiful and I wanted to see it again so badly and I just asked you out on a date. It was the first time that I'd asked a girl to go on a date of my own free will and not because I'd been asked to ask a girl out by someone else. That moment was so perfect for me and I…" Alec broke down in tears. "I screwed everything up so badly. I love you. I love you so much." He kissed her on the cheek and got up and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen that was on the bedside table and scribbled a number down and handed it to her father. "Call me if anything happens. I can't—"

Berrisford nodded in sympathy. "I had the same reaction when her mother was dying. I'll call you if anything changes."

"Thank you," Alec said. He left the room and headed back for the stairs and back to the security office. He opened the door and motioned to Jeff, who typed in a few commands before getting up and following Alec out of the office. They met up with Max by the door of the center and they walked outside to Alec's car. Becky got out of the driver's seat and got in the back seat with Max as Alec and Jeff got in the front and they drove off. Alec dropped the three of them off at their apartments before heading back to his own. He parked the car and went up to and into his apartment and just sat down on the couch with his head in his hands for a long time until the phone rang. He jumped and looked at the clock. _Two-thirty-five? I guess I dozed off or something. I guess Sketchy needs a lift home from Crash or something._ He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"It's me," Berrisford said quietly. "She's gone."

"When did it happen?" Alec asked, trying not to burst into tears again.

"Only a few minutes ago," Berrisford replied. "I…thank you for coming to see Rachel. Thank you for making her happy."

"You're welcome," Alec said. "Thank you for letting me know." He hung up the phone, went into his bedroom, flopped down on the bed, and cried himself to sleep.

TBC


	63. Chapter 58

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I hate the holiday season," Sketchy complained as he arrived back at Jam Pony one afternoon after making a run. "Nothing but run after run after run."

"Stop complaining for once, fool," Original Cindy said. "You're making more money by making 'run after run after run.'"

"Yeah, buddy," Alec said. "Just don't think about how tired you are, think about how you are going to spend all that hard earned money. Besides, we've got less than an hour and then we're done for the day."

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe he should save his money?" Max said.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you sound like—"

"Time out, please," Jeff said. "Watching the two of you fight is fun as hell, but Alec is right and we only have less than an hour before Normal springs us loose and the last thing that we want is for him to be yelling at us all during that time about how we can't control our behavior." He stopped and blinked. "I think I sounded just like a school principal just now."

"You did," Sketchy said. "You sounded exactly like my junior high principal. I should know. I was in her office often enough when I went to that school."

"Somehow, that really doesn't surprise me," Becky said as she rode back into Jam Pony. She got off of her bike and opened up her backpack and took out a newspaper and discreetly gestured with her eyes to Max and Alec and Jeff, who followed her over to a corner. She held out the newspaper and spoke quietly enough so that the three of them were the only ones who could hear her. "Check this out. Front page."

"Holy shit," Max said just as quietly. On the front page of the tabloid that Becky was holding was a picture of an anomaly. It was hard to tell what species of DNA had been put into his genetic makeup. "This isn't good. We should be grateful that it's only a tabloid and not a regular newspaper. People should just blow this off."

"Or it could get White back into Seattle and get him on our collective ass again," Alec said. "I personally think the guy's looking for an excuse to get back here."

"Yeah, me and my supposedly perfect DNA," Max said. "He seemed pretty interested in it."

"There was something that was very wrong about him other than the fact that he's the one in charge of hunting us down and killing us," Becky said. "Remember when I had that run-in with him back in August? The guy was chasing me across the rooftops. He was definitely as fast as an X5 and he took two bullet hits and he didn't slow down and he didn't show any signs of pain whatsoever. We know for sure that this guy is not a transgenic, though."

"I don't know what we're going to do about him if and when he comes back," Max said. "Whatever we do, we've got to stay alert."

"Gee, Max, you're starting to sound an awful lot like someone…" Becky teased.

Max rolled her eyes. "You occasionally do that if you spend time with somebody, plus Lydecker didn't replace Tinga with me as his second-in-command two months before we bailed out for nothing. Speaking of Zack, I'll be following you back to your apartment after we're done here and he and I will be taking off on a date. I don't know when we'll be getting back."

"I don't care. If I'm sleeping when you guys get back, don't wake me up," Becky said.

"No problem," Max said. She sighed and turned her attention back to the article. "This says that the picture was taken yesterday by the sewers not too far from Terminal City. I guess that makes sense. There must be at least some of us who decided to park there. It'd be perfect considering that we're immune from the radiation and toxic waste that spilled there years ago."

Alec nodded. "That's where I found Becky's brother after we all got out. There's no way he was the only one who headed in that direction after the fire."

"If all you slackers are going to do is stand around for the next forty minutes, you might as well go home," Normal said.

"You serious?" Jeff asked.

"I am," Normal said. "I expect for all of you to be back here tomorrow and for you to work your butts off."

"Thanks," Max said cheerfully. She and Becky and Jeff and Alec went to their lockers, got their jackets, got on their bicycles, and left Jam Pony and rode off. Alec and Jeff headed off to their own apartments while Max and Becky rode off to Becky's place. They got there and Becky unlocked the front door and they wheeled their bikes inside. Max dropped her bike on the floor and almost ran to Zack and gave him a big kiss. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," Zack said. He gave her another kiss before he went over to Becky and gave her a hug. "I missed you, baby sister."

"Same here," Becky said.

Zack stepped back and saw the look on her face. "What's going on now? What happened?"

"Something that I suppose we should classify as inevitable," Becky said. She took the tabloid out of her backpack again and handed it to Zack. "At least we've got something of a warning for White getting his weird ass back to Seattle. I am not looking forward to it at all. If White's smart at all, he's going to come back to follow up on this, even if it is only a tabloid."

"…and he's going to want an excuse to get back to Seattle to go hunting for Max again," Zack concluded.

"What should we do?" Max asked.

"All we can do right now is stay alert," Zack said.

Max sighed, but she knew that Zack was right. "I hate waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"You and me both," Becky said. "I'll be in the other room. I need to check on my equipment. Jeff and Maggie and I are going down to Tacoma tonight to pull a job down there." She went into her storage room and closed the door behind her.

Zack sat down on the couch and Max sat down next to him. "Don't worry about White, Maxie," he assured her. "If there's one thing that we know how to do, it's avoid the men and women who chase after us. Becky and Alec and most of the others who got out of Manticore might have more training than us, but if there's one thing that you and I and our family has gotten down to a fine art, it's avoiding and taking care of people who want to hunt us down." He put his arm around Max's shoulder. "And yes, I will be staying in Seattle for a little while longer than normal this time."

"Good," Max said. They sat silently for a few moments before Becky came out of her storage room and stared at them.

"I should be happy that you're not making out," she said. She ducked under the pillow that Max threw at her. "I'm going to go over to Maggie and Brin's to drop something off for Maggie and then I'm getting dinner. You guys want me to bring back something?"

"No, we're going to eat when we go out," Zack said. "Thanks anyway."

"Cool," Becky said. "I'll see you guys later." She left.

"So, what do you want to do? Do you still want to go out?" Max asked.

"Yeah, it should be fine," Zack said.

"Good," Max said. She grinned wickedly. "I never miss an opportunity to be up close and personal with my man with all that power between our legs."

Zack's eyes darkened with lust. "You know, Becky might still be in hearing range." He leaned forward so that his lips were next to Max's ear. "But if you're good, maybe sometime later."

"I hope so," Max said.

TBC


	64. Chapter 59

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

A man and a woman, each wearing a trench coat, walked over to a pier from their respective cars. They both looked around, making sure that nobody was observing them, before turning and facing each other.

"From my father before me, for my sons," the man said quietly.

"From my mother before me, for my daughters," the woman replied. She smiled. "It's good to see you in Seattle again, Brother White."

"It's good to see you again," White said.

"What brings you back here?" the woman asked.

"A picture of one of the freaks turned up in a local tabloid yesterday," White said. "I was called in by my boss at the NSA to make sure that the population kept on believing that it was another fake monster story."

The woman nodded thoughtfully. "It's amazing how people have become so jaded, isn't it? Can you imagine what would happen if they found out that those monsters are actually real and not some trick created by photo editing software?"

"It would be quite a reaction," White agreed. "I made the suggestion to my superior that perhaps the public should be warned about the transgenics, but he disagreed. I didn't want to make a move anyway without yours and the Conclave's support, but I thought it would be prudent to start planting the seeds now."

"That was a wise move," the woman said. "It is a little bit premature to leak the transgenics' presence in the world to the general public, but that time is coming upon us rapidly. It won't belong before you receive the go-ahead from us to release the information."

"Very well," White said.

"Have these transgenics been keeping an otherwise low profile?" the woman said.

"Otherwise, they have been staying out of the radar pretty well," White confirmed. "They were trained to be able to do that, even the anomalies to an extent. It hasn't been easy capturing and eliminating them. We estimated that there were around four thousand or so transgenics total in existence at the time of the fire. About three hundred died in the fire or escaping from the facility, most of those being members of the X9 generation and therefore too young, even for a freak, to make it far. We've captured and/or eliminated only about another forty transgenics since then. Again, most of them were X9s, plus about ten anomalies, a few X3s and X4s, plus the one X6 that walked into the trap that I had set for X5-599."

"Did you recover the X6's body?" the woman asked.

"We never recovered the body, but we found evidence that it had been found and moved by someone else, most likely by 599, given the time and location of X6-405's death. There's no way that 405 could have survived. Our information indicates that the X-series transgenics could survive at most a seven-story drop. 405 fell from rooftop level from a ten-story building," White said. "We've come close a few other times, mostly with X5s and X6s, but they were able to get away for a number of reasons. There is some potentially good news, especially if the Conclave is willing to be patient. The first of the females that had participated in the breeding program that was instituted by Manticore within weeks of the destruction of the DNA lab are expected to be giving birth in a month, with the rest following over the course of the following three months. While this does mean more of these freaks will come into the world, it does mean that most of the females of the X3, X4, and X5 generations will be slowed down by their offspring, thus giving us a greater opportunity."

"The pros just might outweigh the cons," the woman said. "Speaking of X5s, how is the search going for 452?" the woman asked.

"As far as I or anybody else knows, 452 is still in Seattle," White said. "I haven't seen any reports to suggest otherwise."

"Good," the woman said. "The report on 452's DNA is quite intriguing. It is definitely something that is of the Conclave's interest."

"452 can't remain free for long," White said. "She had managed to stay away from Manticore for many years after her initial escape in 2009, but her luck ran out back in March when she and some of her fellow freaks blew up the DNA lab. It can and will run out again."

"I trust that you will do your best to make sure of that," the woman said. She reached into the pocket of her coat and took out a piece of paper and handed it to White. "These are some numbers of your Brothers and Sisters who are in the area who might be able to help you should you need it. They are of the same breeding line as you."

"Any and all help from the Family is appreciated," White said. He put the paper in his own coat pocket.

"You are doing very well, Brother White," the woman said approvingly. "The Conclave is proud of you. Your efforts on our behalf are truly making up for your father's mistakes."

"I am proud to be able to fulfill the Conclave's wishes," White said. "Is there anything else that the Conclave wishes for me to do?"

"No, not at this moment," the woman said. "Your orders remain the same. I will, of course, remain in touch and I will let you know if they do change. Unfortunately, I must leave. I must return to 'work.'" She shook her head. "These humans."

"I know exactly what you mean," White said sympathetically. "I should be getting back myself. I have a video conference call I have to make in half an hour with some of my subordinates in Los Angeles."

"Until we meet again," the woman said. "Fenos'tol."

"Fenos'tol."

TBC


	65. Chapter 60

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

_I wonder if traffic falls into the 'necessary evils' category, like parallel parking does,_ Becky thought as she waited on her motorcycle at a light. _I guess it does in a way. Wow, I must be bored if this is what I'm debating on in my mind._ She sighed in relief when the light finally changed. _It's about time._

She rode on until something caught her eye and she pulled over to the side of the road and stopped her bike and just stared at the buildings in front of her. _Terminal City. I should check it out and see if any of my other siblings turned up here. I should have done that months ago._ Becky mentally shook her head. _You were pretty busy since the fire, plus Kyle told you that he didn't see any more of us over there when he went there right after the fire and that he didn't pair or group up with any of the others when we ran that night._

Becky stared at Terminal City for another minute before she looked around and spotted a tear in the fence that was large enough for her to sneak through and bring her motorcycle in with her. She casually walked up to the fence and quietly snuck through. She chained her bike up to a lamppost and strolled around, looking for any signs of her brothers and sisters.

_I hear some movement in the area and I can make out some voices, but they don't sound like anybody that I know, much less my family. There's someone in the…_ She abruptly turned around, taking out her gun and aiming it at the transhumans and anomalies that had come out, most of them pointing guns at her.

"State your barcode and designation, sweetheart, or get the hell out of here," a lizard-like transgenic growled at her.

"330768235405, X6-405," Becky said coolly. "I'd show you the proof, but I got it taken off and it shouldn't be coming back for another week and a half so I'm sorry if that disappoints you."

One of the anomalies sniffed and nodded to the others that were pointing their guns at Becky. "She's definitely an X6. She's good."

"Nice piece," the lizard guy said.

"Thank you," Becky said. "Nice shotgun. And if anybody even thinks about touching my motorcycle, I won't hesitate to remind them about which body parts are needed to survive."

"We should take this inside," a transhuman said. "Why don't you take your motorcycle in with you?"

"Sounds like a plan," Becky said. She walked back over to her bike and unchained it and followed some of the other transgenics inside one of the buildings. She looked around. "Let me guess—this is your base of operations."

"Smart girl," the lizard soldier said sarcastically.

"You've got an attitude, whatever the heck your name is," Becky remarked.

"The designation was D3-271, but you can call me Mole," he said. "That's Dix and Luke over there at the computers."

"I'm Becky," Becky said.

"What were you doing around here?" Luke asked.

"I wanted to see if anybody from my unit has shown up," Becky said. "My second-in-command came over and remained here for a week immediately after the fire and nobody else from our unit was with him at the time and he said that he didn't see anybody else show up and I was wondering if some of them had shown up since then. I've only gotten back in contact with about half of my unit."

"You should look over on 5th street. It's only about three blocks from here," Mole said. "That's where the majority of the X-series that have come here live. Try building #2291. I've heard most of them have apartments in there."

"They've stuck together," Becky said. "Why doesn't everybody stay with each other? I mean, why should the X-series keep to themselves."

"You're an X-series, sweetheart, maybe you can answer that question," Mole said.

"He means that he believes that they might be scared of us," Dix said. "Weren't you scared of us anomalies and transhumans when you were at Manticore, especially when you were a little kid?"

"Yeah, I was," Becky admitted. "That reminds me." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the picture of the anomaly that had appeared in the tabloid the day before. "I tore this out of the front page of the Seattle Squealer yesterday. One of you needs to be a little more careful." She handed the picture to Dix. Mole and Luke leaned over his shoulder to take a look.

"I've seen that guy down in the basement before," Mole said. "I'm not sure exactly what his deal is. He barely spoke intelligible English. Must have more animal DNA in him than I do."

"He hasn't shown up here," Luke said. "We're trying to keep track of any of the transgenics that live here or have lived here. We managed to get something of a database up. What was your second-in-command's barcode number? I can enter it into the database and have it do a search to see if we put it in yet."

Becky was impressed. "It's 330840673115. He goes by Kyle these days. He's living in Nevada right now with another of our unit mates."

"Searching the database…he's not in it yet," Luke said. "I'll take care of that and I could make an entry for you, if you'd like."

"That would be fine," Becky said. "Speaking of databases, X5-452, her name is Max, swiped Manticore's database off of Director Renfro the night of the fire. I could ask her to lend it to you if you want to copy the information off of it."

"That'd be useful for sure," Dix said. "How did she get the database from Director Renfro?"

"Basically, Renfro called Max into her office right before she set the fire for something and then taunted Max that she'd gotten the order from the committee in charge of Manticore to burn it down and Max killed her and decided to take the database with her. She thought it would be useful in the future and she knew somebody who could decrypt it for her," Becky said. "I don't think she'd mind at all if you wanted to borrow it."

"She offed Renfro? Who ever said that the '09ers were scum were wrong in my book," Mole said.

"They've been wrong in my book the whole time," Becky said. She saw the look that Mole and Dix and Luke gave her and shook her head. "I'll explain later. Hell, you'll understand that a little bit more when you see my entry in the database." She shrugged. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"Just give me the barcode numbers and names of the members of your unit that you're in contact with," Dix said. "For our records."

"No problem," Becky said.

"If you know anybody who can make supply and or money runs for us, that would be great," Luke said. "We haven't had much luck trying to convince the X-series here in T.C. to help us. I wonder why." That got laughs out of the four of them. "Maybe you'll have better luck trying to convince someone who can make the runs who has less of a chance of getting caught than one of us lookers."

"I'll try. I'm almost completely certain that Max will be willing to help you out. This is her specialty." Becky looked serious. "But speaking of getting caught, you guys really need to watch out for the NSA agent that's in charge of hunting down the transgenics. I mean aside from the obvious fact that he's in charge of trying to kill us or capture us so we can be sliced up and then killed. We've got to figure that he's back in the city because of the picture showing up in that paper."

"What do you mean?" Dix asked.

"There is something with that man that isn't right," Becky said. "Seriously not right. Back in August, I got into a situation with him. Somebody double crossed an X5 and gave White, that's the agent, information that White used to set up a trap, only I was the one that ended up getting caught in it. I fought my way past the soldiers White sent to kill me and as I was escaping the building, I saw White and shot him in the thigh and got past him and ran across rooftops until I thought I was clear. I wasn't. Even with a bullet in his thigh, he followed me. He continued to chase me and I put a bullet in his other leg and not only did that not slow him down, but he didn't appear to even feel the wound. I only got out of that jam by sheer luck. That guy is not a transgenic but he is as fast as an X5 and he doesn't feel pain. I don't know if he's as strong as a transgenic or if his reflexes and other senses are as good, but he's dangerous."

"We'll keep an eye out for him," Luke promised.

"I'd like to see him take a shot from this baby here," Mole said. He patted his shotgun affectionately. "One hit from this and they'll need the scrapers and industrial strength cleaners to clean up what's left of his head."

"Proud of it, huh?" Becky said.

"Damn straight I am," Mole said.

"I'll get going and see if any of my unit mates are around," Becky said. She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper off of the desk that Luke and Dix were sitting at and wrote down her cell phone number. "Here's my number."

"Thanks," Dix said. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out for this White guy."

"Good," Becky said. "So will I." She waved to them and left.

TBC


	66. Chapter 61

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Spoiler-ish stuff for whichever episode it was revealed in about the Familiars and the fact that White was one of them. I missed watching almost everything between "Boo" and "She Ain't Heavy," so I don't know exactly which episode it was.

"Sign, please?" Max said to the secretary who she had just delivered a package to. She held out her clipboard and tried her best to look patient and something close to perky.

"Yeah, whatever," the woman said. She took the clipboard and scribbled her name on it and handed it back to Max. "Stupid freakin' kids."

"I guess a nice tip is out of the question," Max remarked.

"Just get out of my face," the secretary snapped.

"Somebody's not having a good day," Max muttered to herself as she put the clipboard back into her backpack and walked off. _I haven't seen anybody that crabby since Tinga had her first heat cycle about two years before we all left Manticore. She was really annoyed that Eva and Jondy stopped her from jumping Kenny._ She sighed at the memory of her brother, the third oldest person in her family after Zack and Tinga. _I wish that he'd made it out that night. Him and Elle and Parker and Gale…they're all dead, just like Dash and Jack and Eva and Tinga and Reese and Ben. Half of my family is gone now._

Max got onto her bicycle and started to ride back to Jam Pony. _Cheer up. That means that you still have half of your family alive and well and we're going to be together again one of these days. I have to keep hoping and believing that will happen. Yeah, cynical ol' Max, actually hoping for something. What can I say? I guess when you care about something enough, you can't help but have hope._

She stopped her bike while she waited for some kids playing to get out of her way. _When will kids learn not to play in the sidewalks? Hell, I've got to admit that it's better than them playing directly in the streets. At least they're out in public where they'll be witnesses if someone snatches one of them. I bet that's what their mothers are thinking. Hey, there's the cynical old me!_ She started to laugh but stopped suddenly and stared straight ahead, her eyes quickly zooming in on two figures farther into the crowd.

* * *

White walked up to the man who was standing outside of the grocery store and nodded to him. "From my father before me, for my sons."

"From my father before me, for my sons," the man greeted. He smiled and gave White a hug. "It's been much too long, Ames. When was the last time that we saw each other?"

"Probably at my wedding about five years ago, Stephen," White said.

The other man nodded. "How's Wendy doing? You guys ready for your first yet?"

"Soon," White said. "Very soon. Wendy had miscarriage number two a few months ago and just yesterday the doctor said that we can start trying again and Wendy has made it pretty clear that she wants to try again as soon as possible. I want more than one child, but if the Conclave wishes it for me to have only the one, then so be it." He grew very serious. "We need to get down to business."

"Absolutely," Stephen agreed. "Tell me about this transgenic freak."

"Her designation is X5-452, but she actually prefers to be called by the name Max," White said. "She and her unit attempted to escape Manticore back in March of 2009 and she was one of the ones who made it out. She got recaptured when she and a few others destroyed Manticore's DNA lab and when Manticore burned down back in June; she made it out then as well. One of my teams came across a CD that had belong to Elizabeth Renfro, the facility and project's director, which contained some fresh data that she had not had time to enter into the project's database, which is missing and presumed burned in the fire. Among the files on this report is a complete DNA analysis that had been carried out on 452 shortly before the fire." He paused and looked his friend in the eye. "452 has no junk DNA whatsoever."

"Damn," Stephen said. "Do you think that she could be…?"

"We don't know yet," White said. "This is why it is imperative that 452 be brought in so our own people can do all of the necessary testing. She's been lucky and has evaded any and all attempts so far. I haven't been able to personally make as many attempts as I would have liked to make because of my job constraints, but things are working in the direction that I want them to right now."

"Good," Stephen said. "You got a picture of this 452?"

"Of course," White said. He reached into the pocket of his trench coat and took out a picture of Max that he'd printed off of the Psy Ops report. "Here she is."

"If she wasn't a freak…" Stephen said. "It's sad that this much beauty was wasted on these things."

"I know what you mean," White said. "They engineered the X-series specifically to be good looking."

"So, do you have any kind of current location on 452?" Stephen asked.

"Not exactly, but from what information that I've been able to get, she's been residing in Seattle for a while, more than two years, and seems to be quite attached to her life here," White said. "My gut instinct tells me she's still living in this city."

"Your gut instinct is usually right," Stephen observed. He reached into his coat pocket and brought out a small set of binoculars and handed them to White. "And how many times did you give me grief when we were in college for me always carrying a pair in my pocket?"

"I promise not to make fun of you for that again," White deadpanned. "Thank you." He took the binoculars and held them up to his eyes and looked in front of him. He raised an eyebrow and whistled and handed the binoculars back to Stephen. "What do we have here?"

"What? Do you see 452 already?" Stephen asked.

"No, but a possible means of getting 452," White said. "The blond man in the leather jacket up the block from us. He turned his head for a moment and I got a look at his face. That's X5-599, the leader of 452's unit. He was also one of the freaks who escaped in 2009. From what I've read, he and 452 were close back at Manticore." He grinned nastily and took out a tranquilizer gun and loaded a dart into it. "If there's one thing that I've observed about 452, it's that she never fails to come to the rescue of her fellow freaks. She won't be able to resist this."

* * *

Zack felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and resisted the urge to turn his head around and look behind him. _I'm being followed. I know I'm being followed. Damn, I hate being in crowds. It's hard sometimes even for a transgenic to be able to clearly hear one voice over another. Just stay calm and act like nothing's wrong._ He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket and he grabbed it and looked at the caller I.D. and answered it. "Yeah?"

"Run now," Max ordered.

He disconnected and started to walk quicker. He could hear two voices more distinctly now and recognized one of them almost immediately and almost froze. _White. He better not have seen Maxie._ He discreetly looked around and turned onto a deserted street and started to pick up speed. _He's going to see her, though. Any second now…_

"They want you as bait," Max said breathlessly as she pulled up alongside Zack and they ran faster. They turned around and saw that White and Stephen were keeping up with them. "Shit, there's more of whatever the hell he is."

"And there's no more room for you to run," White said calmly as Max and Zack stopped at the dead end of the street. "Why don't you make this easier for everybody, 452, and just come with us? We'll even let your friend over there go."

Max narrowed her eyes. _Any idiot who's at least seen a pre-pulse action movie would know that White's lying through his teeth. There's no way that he's going to kill Zack. No way in hell._ "Come on, I'm a grown woman. You don't have to lie to me."

"You," White said, slowly advancing towards Max and Zack. "Are a freak of nature."

"Try telling me something that I don't know," Max snapped. White and Stephen just looked at each other and attacked the two transgenics. Max and Zack fought back, but barely. White and Stephen were easily a match for them. Max managed to block a punch and shoved White back. "What I want to know is who the hell are you people?"

"Oh, does the little freak want to know?" Stephen taunted.

"We do, especially considering that you're trying to kill us," Zack shot back.

"We are the future of the human race," White said. "You are just an aberration."

"Would you mind elaborating?" Max asked.

White smirked. "Certainly. We've been bred for over a thousand years to be perfection. Naturally bred, not created like you freaks were. The Familiars are the true future of the human race. The Coming is soon and you freaks and the so called "normal" humans will be wiped from the face of the Earth. There's so many more of us, and we've all got our own purposes, like you freaks in a way. There'll be no stopping us." He laughed. "Your friend X6-405 found that one out the hard way. It would have been nice to slice her body up…"

"Did you think that I would actually leave her body for you bastards?" Zack hissed. He caught Max's eye and gave her a look.

Max knew what the look meant. "Chasing an innocent teenager to her death. Real nice of you assholes. The least we could do for her was to take care of her body the proper way." She heard something and glanced at Zack out of the corner of her eye. Zack gave the smallest of nods and looked back at White and Stephen. They didn't appear to have heard the noise. _I guess they can't hear or see as well as we can._

"She might have been a teenager, but she wasn't innocent," Stephen said. "She was one of you. None of you freaks of nature are innocent. How could something abnormal be innocent?"

"You were babies once, weren't you?" Max said sweetly. She could see Zack look a little annoyed with her for smarting off, but she squeezed his hand. _I know what I'm doing. Trust me._

"It's nice to see that you haven't lost that wit of yours," White said almost cheerfully. "I'm going to repeat myself again. You can make it easier for everybody if you willingly come with us, 452. If you don't, you and 599 will be taking the short route to hell. Which is it going to be?"

"Let me think about that for a minute…" Max said sarcastically. She looked at Zack for a moment and then turned back to White. "I'll take option C." She and Zack bolted back up the street past White and Stephen and ran to the convertible that they'd heard stop along the side of the road and jumped in. Max quickly hotwired it and they tore off.

Zack turned around in his seat and took out his gun and swore. "They're following us. Can you go any faster?"

"Yeah, if I wanted to get into an accident," Max said as she whipped around a turn. "This isn't exactly my Ninja, Zack. And why the hell didn't you use that thing before?"

"You were there," Zack said. He tried to get a good aim on White and Stephen, who were still chasing the car. "I wasn't able to get the chance to…son of a bitch!"

White and Stephen jumped on the car and White knocked the gun out of Zack's hand. "Oh, is 599 upset because I took away his toy?"

"No, _Zack_ is upset because you want to kill him and _Max_," Zack growled as he threw a punch at White, only for White to block it and Stephen to backhand him.

"Not Mr. Bigshot Freak when it's two-on-one, are we?" Stephen taunted. He reached towards Max.

Zack narrowed his eyes. _Never, EVER, think about hurting my Maxie._ He managed to push White aside enough to viciously elbow Stephen in the side of the head. Stephen lost his balance and fell off of the moving car. "Rule number one. Never hurt or want to hurt the people I love. That's for wanting to hurt Max."

"Oh, I'm so scared," White said sarcastically. He threw another punch at Zack, but this time Zack blocked it and held onto White's wrist in a death grip and stared him down.

"And this one is for killing Becky," he said coldly. He punched White hard in the face, sending White tumbling off of the car.

"Holy crap," Max said as she drove off. "Are they dead?"

Zack stared behind them and shook his head as he saw White and Stephen slowly getting up but not making any moves to try to catch them again. "No. I don't think that they're in any shape to catch us." He turned back around and sat down. "Maxie, thank you for giving me the heads up back there." He smiled a little. "You're always saving my ass these days."

Max smiled back. "If it wasn't for you just now, that weird buddy of White's would have gotten me and I would have been toast. You saved me."

Zack put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "We make a perfect team, don't we?"

"Yeah," Max said. She grinned. "We do."

TBC


	67. Chapter 62

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Where the firetruck is Max?" Normal yelled from behind his counter. "She should have been back from that run a long time ago! If she wanted to leave early, she should have at least…"

"Relax, I'm right here," Max said. She set her bike against a wall. "Some gang tried to jump me as I was coming back from my run and I wanted to make sure that they weren't following me before I headed back here." She took off her backpack and took out her clipboard and handed it to Normal. "I didn't lose the signature, if that makes you feel better."

"Be more careful the next time you go on a run, got it?" Normal said.

"I got it," Max said. She went over to a pillar and leaned against it and closed her eyes and sighed.

"You look like hell," Original Cindy said.

Max opened her eyes and shook her head. "I just took a trip through there on my last run, thanks. I'll give you the details later. Where are Alec and Jeff?"

"It was one of those runs, huh?" Original Cindy said. "Jeff should be getting back from a run any minute now and I think that Alec's taking a bathroom break. What about Becky? Whatever you've got to tell the soldier boys, and it sounds damn serious from the way you're talking, shouldn't you be telling her too?"

"It doesn't matter where the guys are," Max said. "I should talk to them in private, anyway. Becky's covered. Zack happened to be with me when this thing went down and he's going to give Becky the heads up. I'm going to go ask Normal if I can split now. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Take care, boo," Original Cindy said. She hugged Max and walked away.

"Normal, I'm going to split," she said.

Normal looked at his watch. "It's close enough to closing time, anyway. Go ahead, get here on time tomorrow morning, and remember to be careful."

"Thanks," Max said. She walked back over to her bicycle and got on and rode off. She didn't go back to her own apartment building, but over to Becky's. She chained her bicycle up to the fence in back of the building and went inside and up to the apartment and let herself in. Becky was nowhere to be seen, but Zack was lying down on the couch. He looked like he was sleeping, but he opened his eyes when Max came in.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Max said softly. She sat down next to him and Zack pulled her onto his lap and she lay down on top of him and snuggled close. Zack put his arms around her and they lay silently for a few moments. "Where's Becky?"

"Out," Zack said. "She said she needed to get her thoughts together. She needs to talk with you when she gets back."

"Okay," Max said. "Zack?"

"What is it, Maxie?"

"I've been thinking about this occasionally since the fire and today especially had me thinking about it," Max said. "You want to keep us all safe and so do I and even I have to admit that the separation policy that you've had with us since we bailed back in '09 has worked really well. But with White and whatever freak breeding thing he's a part of and everything…there's a line between it'll be harder to catch us if we're spread out and safety in numbers. Is that line starting to blur? We had a hard time with White and his friend. I don't know how many people like that are out there or what exactly all of them are capable of, if they're like White or more powerful or just powerful in a different way. If I hadn't seen spotted you and warned you…" Max had to fight back tears.

Zack tightened his grip on Max. "It's like what I thought when I first got acquainted with Director Renfro. Just when you think you know what evil is, there's something more. At least now we have a better idea of what White is capable of. We learned all about our enemies before and we've evaded and defeated them. White is no different. You have a point, though, about that line. I was actually starting to wonder the same thing myself. That's why I called Krit and Syl after I called Becky. I told them to relocate to at least within twenty miles of Seattle."

"You did?" Max said. She was genuinely surprised.

"I did," Zack said. "They were within a day's travel from here to begin with. The others are fine, too. They're safe at their current locations. Krit and Syl were also, but they were relatively close to here to begin with. We're going to need all the help that we can get, Maxie."

"I know," Max said. "This is scaring me."

"It's scaring me, too," Zack said, quietly. "We'll get through this together. We've survived Lydecker and Renfro and Felicia when she was brainwashed. We'll survive this too. We're definitely going to survive White and we'll defeat him as well. We defeated Lydecker, you defeated Renfro, and Becky brought Felicia's real self back. We haven't met an enemy that we've been unable to defeat yet."

"Actually, I've always thought that Renfro defeated Lydecker," Max quipped.

"Ha ha ha," Zack said. He grinned. "There's my Maxie."

"You can't keep this bitch down," Max said. She sat up and grinned back at Zack. "Not for long."

"I'm glad," Zack said. He sat up, gently stroked the side of Max's face, and kissed her deeply. Max gladly returned the kiss. They parted, stared into each others' eyes, and gave each other a smile before they leaned in for another kiss.

TBC


	68. Chapter 63

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc).

**Notes:** I guess some spoiler-ish stuff for "Dawg Day Afternoon."

White sat back in his desk chair in his Seattle office and patiently waited for the man on the other end of the video link to appear on his computer monitor. He smiled when he saw his boss finally sit down in his own chair. "It's good to see you again, sir."

"Good to see you, Ames. I apologize for the delay," he said.

"It's okay," White said. "So, can I ask what the purpose is for this video call?"

"I just want to check up on your progress again," his boss said. "Is there any progress hunting these transgenics?"

"Unfortunately, the well appears to be drying up," White said regretfully. "We didn't capture that transgenic that appeared in that tabloid here in Seattle back in December and while we've had a few similar occurrences elsewhere in the country, we haven't had nearly as many captures. The number of transgenics that we have captured since the facility burned down has dwindled significantly. As a matter of fact, no transgenics have been captured at all within the last month. It seems that they are adapting to this situation. As much as this situation works against us, we probably should have been expecting it. The transgenics are very well trained to handle any situation."

"You have a point," his boss said. "We need to pick things up again. We need to contain this problem."

"If I may suggest something?" White asked.

"You still want us to let the public know about Manticore and the transgenics," his boss said. "Ames, we've been over this a million times. You know exactly how I feel about that idea."

"And you know exactly how I feel about it and you know that I'm right," White said. "Sir, nothing else seems to be working anymore. We only have so many eyes out there. If we bring the public in on this, if we let the public know exactly what they're facing, we get millions of pairs of eyes helping us. The general public is a powerful tool that's just sitting there charging up and ready to use. You know exactly how they're going to react if and when they hear about the transgenics. The majority of them or at least a significant portion of them will panic. They'll be so concerned for their own safety that they'll maybe be even more vigilant than we are." White smirked. "If this still bothers you, you can always think of this as hiring more employees and not paying any of them. You always were complaining about being short-staffed but not having the funding to be able to pay more people."

His boss chuckled. "That part is true."

"What is stopping us from going forward with this idea?" White said.

"Are you sure that you haven't had any progress eliminating the transgenics?" his boss asked.

"I faxed you the reports first thing this morning," White said. "I'm not sure if you've had the time to look at them yet, but you should at least have them in your possession."

His boss nodded and reached for a folder and opened it. "You haven't even been able to capture the females that were in Manticore's breeding program? Even the ones that have given birth within the last month?"

"Not even them," White said. "Like I've said before and like I know that you're aware of, these transgenics are extremely well trained and these females have the most training out of all the transgenics, especially the X3 females, and the X5 females have a higher skill level with the X4s falling somewhere in between. Look, sir, I need to know whether or not we are going to be going ahead with informing the public or not so that I can get the ball rolling here."

"I know, I know," his boss said. He sighed and sat there quietly while he contemplated it. "All right, we're going to go with this."

"Thank you, sir," White said. He managed to hide his grin. "How are we going to be doing this, sir? Who will be giving the press conference? Will it be you, since you are in charge of the NSA or will it be me since I am in charge of the operation?"

"It will be me," his boss said. "The public will find it more believable if the news was given to them by the person that's in charge of the agency." He smiled somewhat patronizingly at White. "I know how ambitious you are, Ames, and I can tell how much that you wanted to deliver this news yourself. But you can understand my reasons, right?"

"Of course, sir," White said. "My most important thing is for the public to receive this information in the most efficient way possible to ensure that we get as many transgenics as we can. I do wish that I could have been the one to deliver the news, but sometimes I've got to take one for the team."

"That's what I love about you, Ames," his boss said. "You're a smart man."

"Thank you, sir," White said. "When will this news conference be taking place?"

His boss picked up a PDA and scanned through it before he entered some information on it and set it back down and looked back at White. "It should happen between nine and nine-thirty tomorrow morning. I've got some meetings that I have to get to so I'll call you if I need anything from you."

"That sounds like a plan," White said. "It was good talking to you again, sir." He disconnected the video link and pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed a number. "Fenos'tol."

"Fenos'tol," the voice on the other end said. "What news do you have for us, Brother White?"

"Well, it's funny you should happen to use that particular word…" White said with a laugh.

TBC


	69. Chapter 64

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** More spoiler-ish stuff for "Dawg Day Afternoon".

Becky took off her hat and shook the snow off of it. "Beautiful early-February Seattle. Instead of gray and rainy, it's gray and snowy." She shrugged and opened her locker. "It could be worse."

"How could it be worse?" Sketchy whined. "It's snowing outside and Normal still made us come into work!"

"Where I grew up, it usually started snowing around my birthday and didn't stop until the end of March," Becky said. "That's about five consecutive months of snow. And if we were there, Normal would still call us into work."

"The girl's right," Original Cindy said. "So you can lay off the whining."

"Thank you," Becky said. She threw her parka onto the bench and looked around. "I beat Alec and Jeff here?"

"You did," Original Cindy said. "It's not like Alec to be so late."

"No, Brin didn't have the baby yet," Max said. "She would have let me know."

"No, I was late because I almost ran over this little dumb ass when he stopped short on the way over," Alec said, glaring at Jeff.

"What did you expect me to do?" Jeff protested. "If I didn't stop short, I would have run over that kid's basketball and then I would have fallen and then you definitely would have run me over."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Alec muttered. He threw his things into his locker.

"Somebody woke up in a bad mood this morning," Max said innocently.

"Hey, I'm going to be a father sometime in the next two weeks. Cut me some slack," Alec said. "Do you have any idea how nerve-wracking this is? I almost jump a mile whenever my beeper goes off now because I think that it's Brin calling me because she's gone into labor."

"Relax, my man, you're going to be a great dad," Sketchy said.

"Thanks," Alec said. "I don't think I'm going to be able to relax until my son or daughter is born."

"And then you won't be able to sleep," Max said cheerfully.

"Will you guys knock it off?" Becky said. "Normal's being pissier than usual. The last thing that we want to do is to get him mad."

"Okay," Alec said.

"I've got a couple of hot runs over to sector 8," Normal yelled. "1178 West 8th street and 600 West 14th street. Who wants them?"

"I'll take one of them," Sketchy volunteered. "I'll catch you guys at lunch." He took one of the packages from Normal and left.

"I guess I'll take the other," Original Cindy said. "Don't kill Alec today, boo, he owes me money from that bet we made on that pool game at Crash last night." She left.

"Which bet was that?" Jeff asked. "Was it the bet over how long it would take Sketchy to crash that trick or was it the one over whether Max would beat you at pool?"

"Does it matter which one it was?" Alec said.

"The pool one," Becky answered.

"Hey! Young man, you have the whole rest of the day to speak with your sister. While what she is doing only resembles working in its most vague form, she is still working," Normal shouted to someone from his counter.

"Relax, this is only going to be at most a few minutes." Krit jogged up to Max and the others. "Hey, Maxie. I need a small favor from you."

"Let me guess: your girlfriend went into heat and you need to crash with her or someone elsefor the next few days," Alec said.

"How did you know?" Krit said.

Alec pointed to the rips on Krit's shirt that were mostly covered up by his jacket. "They look like they were made by relatively long female fingernails. Judging by how deep those tears are, I'd say a female X5 in heat. Trust me, I've seen X5s jump each other before when the female is in heat. It happened to my buddy 511 one time. Your sister Rena's twin jumped him when she was going into heat about a year before you blew the DNA lab and her nails made a similar impression on his t-shirt when some of the other girls pulled her off of 511."

"If she was anything like Rena…" Jeff said.

"Hey, I saved you from banging Rena, remember?" Becky said.

"Yeah, those scratches that I had you stitch up when we got back to our motel room that afternoon that she left when you pulled us apart reminded me of it," Jeff said.

"I'm glad I kept enough control over myself to get out of the apartment before it was too late," Krit said. "There is no way in hell that I am ready for a baby right now. Being an uncle is great, but a kid of my own?"

"Ooooh, that was just the right thing to say in front of Alec," Becky said sarcastically.

"Sorry," Krit said.

"It's no problem," Alec said. "I mean it. No offense was taken. I'll just remember to drop the kid off with you one night so that he or she can spend quality time with Uncle Krit." He grinned wickedly. "When Aunt Syl is nowhere near your apartment so that Uncle Krit can have plenty of time to have his new niece or nephew all to himself."

"You bastard," Krit said.

"Didn't you just say that being an uncle was great?" Alec continued.

"Yes, I did you little—"

"We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin," a female anchor said. Max, Krit, Alec, Becky, and Jeff all turned to look at the TV that was in the corner. "A news conference given by Franklin Walsh, the head of the NSA, is set to begin in Washington D.C. at any moment. Details are sketchy with regard to the exact reason for this news conference. We'll take you now to our reporter for our D.C. affiliate."

"Thank you very much," another reporter said. "As you can see behind me, the news conference is about to begin. Let's listen in on what Mr. Walsh has to say."

"Thank you very much for coming here on this short notice," Mr. Walsh said. "Many of you might have noticed the occasional story or picture of these so-called 'mutant men' in your local or national tabloid magazines or tabloid newspapers. It is my sad duty to tell all of you that these mutant men are not just 'so-called,' they are real." He looked around at the reporters and cameras that were gathered in front of him. "These creatures are human-animal hybrids that were genetically engineered by a former government project that was known as Manticore. Manticore's purpose was to engineer genetically-enhanced soldiers that would surpass ordinary soldiers or even ordinary human beings in general. Manticore was first created more than forty years ago and was dismantled this past June after its main facility, which was located just outside of Seattle, Washington, burned to the ground under mysterious circumstances. When this facility was destroyed, these genetically engineered soldiers escaped. Many of these soldiers were designed for specific purposes, such as this one right here." He held up a picture of an anomaly that had been clearly designed for an Arctic environment. "This soldier was designed for combat in an Arctic region. He would have been engineered with something such as Siberian Husky DNA. A soldier designed for combat in the desert would have been engineered with some form of reptilian DNA."

"Dude, is this for real?" one of the other messengers said in disbelief.

"Be quiet," Max hissed.

"Manticore also produced soldiers to blend in with normal human beings," Mr. Walsh continued. "These are known as the X-series soldiers. There are nine known generations of them, the last seven of which are alive and well. They range from toddlers to thirty-something adults. Like most of the soldiers that were created by Manticore, they are stronger, they are faster, and they are smarter than any of us could hope to be. While they were all engineered with some kind of animal DNA in them, they all look as normal as you and me and as such, are the most dangerous of anything to come out of Manticore. One of them could be standing next to you and you wouldn't know it. However, you can tell one of them from a regular human being. All of the Manticore soldiers, whether they are desert class or Psychological Operations or X-series or whatever they happen to be, have a barcode across the back of their necks. This was Manticore's means of tracking their soldiers. It is encoded into their DNA. In closing, I would like to tell all of you to be alert for these creatures. If you spot one, report it to your local law enforcement officials immediately so that the situation can be dealt with. Thank you all for your cooperation and I wish you all a good day. Thank you."

The channel went back to the talk show that had been originally showing on it, but neither Max nor Krit nor Becky nor Alec nor Jeff noticed. Nobody noticed how the five of them just stood there, their eyes and faces as grim as they'd ever been. The whole room was quiet for a minute.

"Wow," a messenger said. "Real sci-fi freaks? Walking among us just like that? How awesome!"

"How awesome? How awesome would it be if one of them went up to you and ripped your head off," another one snapped. "No thank you. That's too freaky."

"Look, I agree with you that it's a scary situation, but we still need to get back to work," Normal said. "All of you need to be extra careful out there, got it? Contrary to popular belief, I actually care about what happens to you reprobates."

"Think he'd care about us if he found out exactly who we are?" Becky said low enough for only the other four to hear.

Max nodded grimly. "All of you have your 'codes taken care of, right? I'm good."

"So am I," Becky said.

"Me too," Krit said.

"I'm good," Alec and Jeff said.

Krit sighed and gave Max a hug. "I better get going to work. Be careful out there, okay sis? You already died once."

"It won't happen again," Max said. "Don't worry. The tightrope might have gotten a lot thinner, but we can still walk it. You'll see."

TBC


	70. Chapter 65

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Rena parked her motorcycle by the curb and jumped off of it and started to walk down the street. She shoved her gloved hands in the pockets of her parka and walked quickly down the street.

_This place is at least as cold as Gillette used to be. Yeah, great idea, Zack, telling me to go to freaking Montana after you asked me to leave Madison a few weeks ago. Get real, Rena, Madison would have been this bad. It was freaking Wisconsin! Nothing like beautiful middle of winter weather in the northern United States! And it's starting to snow now. Beau-ti-freaking-full. All I want to do is to get the damn barcode removed again and then head back to my apartment and curl up in front of my TV with a mug of hot chocolate and watch what passes for good late night television these days. Just because I can withstand the cold a million times better than a regular human doesn't mean that I like being out in the cold!_

Rena looked around and saw a group of people gathered around a window at an electronics store, watching whatever channel that the TVs in the window had been set on. She froze when she heard what was being said by the reporter.

"…these projects' appearances can vary. They can look very much like an animal or they can appear as ordinary as you or me. Regardless of whether they are armed, they are to be considered extremely dangerous. All of these transgenics have one common identifying factor: they all have a barcode mark across the backs of their necks. If you see one of these transgenics around, please report it to the authorities so that they can take care of it."

_Son-of-a-bitch! I've got to get out of here and call Zack and let him know._ She quietly backed away and turned around and headed back towards her motorcycle.

"Hey! That chick has a barcode on her neck!" a man who had been watching the news report in the group of people suddenly said. He pointed directly to Rena. "Get her!"

Rena's eyes widened and she jumped onto her motorcycle and floored it. Behind her, she could hear the people jump into their cars and chase her. She whipped around a corner and just managed to swerve out of the way as a bullet went flying past her.

_Damn! I just had to run across the group of morons who had at least one shotgun with them!_ She frowned as she continued to fly through the streets. _I don't even have time to call Zack for help! I'm on my own for this one._ She almost laughed to herself. _He'd call me crazy for leading a chase on my motorcycle at about 100 miles an hour in what's damn near a snowstorm! He'd think it'd attract too much attention. Max and Jondy would both be impressed, though._ She grinned as an idea came to her. _I knew all those late night rides on this bike would come in handy! This will also definitely fall under the 'Zack Will Have A Heart Attack And Max and Jondy Will Congratulate Me' category. As long as it works, I don't think that Zack will be able to complain!_

She hit the throttle on her bike as she swerved onto another road. She could still hear the cars behind her trying to keep up and occasionally trying to shoot either her or at least shoot out one of her tires. She turned onto another road and started climbing up a large hill. She swerved around a few cars, somehow managing to stay on her bike despite how fast she was going.

_Perfect! They won't be able to get around those cars as easily as I can._ Her eyes narrowed as she focused on her plan. _Those blind turns should be coming up right…one turn…second turn…5…4…3…2…1…last turn!_

She whipped around the last turn and then flung herself off of her motorcycle to the side, landing several feet away from the road onto her back into the fairly deep snow. She heard the whistling noise of the air as the motorcycle fell almost two hundred feet and then the loud crash and explosion as it hit the ground. She got up and quickly looked for a place to hide. She saw the huge snowdrift by the side of the road and froze for a moment, but then heard the distant sounds of the people who had been chasing her coming closer and mentally shook herself and crawled into the snowdrift. She huddled into a ball in the middle of the huge pile of snow and shivered at not only the cold, but the memories that the snowdrift brought with it.

* * *

_Zack gave them the order to split up and paired them off. He paired Rena and Zane together and gave them a direction to go off in. The two of them nodded and ran off._

_They climbed the fence easily and continued running. They could hear the helicopters flying overhead and just managed to stay ahead of their spotlights. They breathed a little easier when they heard the helicopter that had been chasing them turn around and fly off in another direction, but froze when they heard the sound of Humvees on the nearby road. The looked around frantically until Zane spotted a nearby snowdrift that they could hide in and signaled to Rena. She nodded and they buried themselves in the snow until they no longer heard the Humvees or the helicopters._

* * *

Rena made herself come back to the present. _Grow up, will you? That was almost twelve years ago! You're twenty-three now, not eleven! You and Zane got out of that situation. You can get out of this one even easier. These people are nothing more than idiots with a shotgun or two and even fewer brain cells, not the soldiers of the U.S. military that are guarding a top-secret military research and training facility! This will be a piece of cake. Just focus and you can get out of this one with no problems._ She listened carefully as she heard some of the people get out of their cars and start talking to each other.

"Damn, so much for the freak bitch," one man said. "I guess it was kinda too bad. She was pretty hot."

"She was still a freak bitch," another guy, the one who'd spotted Rena's barcode, said. "I guess even one of them couldn't handle a motorcycle at 100 plus miles an hour in a snowstorm. It's her loss and our gain. Can you imagine what the ones who don't look completely human look like? That's gotta be sick. Do you see anything around here? Maybe she left something behind."

"Like what? What would she have left behind? If her body hasn't been toasted in the explosion, it wouldn't be up here," a woman said. "All that's here is just those damn snow angels and snow men that those kids left behind. They shouldn't be playing this close to a cliff, but that's beside the point."

"I hear ya," another man said. "Come on. Let's get back into town. The replay of the hockey game's gonna be on in the bar in twenty minutes and I don't want to miss it."

Rena waited patiently as she heard them get back into their cars and drove away. After they had been gone long enough for them to be back into town, she pulled herself out of the snowdrift and to her feet. She quickly ran away from the road, making sure that she only stepped in the footprints that other people had left behind and not making any new ones of her own. She kept on moving until she reached a highway several miles away and saw a department store that was closed down for the night. She crossed the road and broke into the store and grabbed a change of clothes, some new boots, some makeup, a hair dryer, and took a trash bag from a package of them. She snuck into a bathroom and took of her wet clothes and changed into the new ones and put on the new boots and dried her hair. She used the makeup to cover up her barcode and shoved it into the pockets of her jeans. She grabbed her wet clothes and shoes and parka and shoved them into the trash bag and found a trash disposal chute and threw the bag inside. She took the money from one of the cash registers and left the store and walked a half mile down the highway until she got to a diner that was open and went inside and sat down at a booth and opened a menu and looked at it.

"Miss? Do you know what you want to eat?" the waitress asked her.

"I sure do," Rena said. "A cup of hot chocolate and some scrambled eggs and sausage would be great."

"Coming right up," the waitress said. She scribbled Rena's order down on her pad and went off to the kitchen.

Rena sighed and took out her cell phone, happy that it was working. "I guess it wasn't false advertising. These things really are waterproof," she muttered to herself. She dialed Zack's number.

"What's going on, Rena?" he asked.

"Hi, big bro," Rena said cheerfully. "I got a little problem. I had a big fight with my asshole boyfriend. I'm fine, but I need a ride home."

Zack knew from Rena's words and tone of voice that she was making the call in a public place. "Where are you right now?"

"At a diner about eight or so miles west of Great Falls," Rena said. "You remember it, we passed by it on the way home that one time? I'm getting some food while I'm waiting for your sorry butt to come and give me a ride back home."

"I remember the diner," Zack said. "Unfortunately, I'm in Georgia right now on my way to check on one of the others so I can't get to you right now or in the immediate future."

"That really sucks," Rena said. "When can you come and pick me up?"

Zack thought for a few moments. _Max was wondering a while ago when the line between being separating being the safest thing for us and safety in numbers was going to completely blur. I think it's starting to get to that point, at least for now._ "Continue heading west. I want you to go to Seattle. When you get into the city, call this number." He told her Max's cell phone number.

"Great! I'll see you then. Bye," Rena said, still sounding cheerful. She disconnected and put her cell phone away as the waitress brought her food and hot chocolate over to her. She thought things over as she was eating. _I wonder why Zack wants me to go over to Seattle. I remember that's where that girl Becky said she was living. I wonder if she's still living there and this is her number. Yeah, right, like that's the truth. The odds of that are kind of slim. She is Zack's sister, after all! Whoever's number this is, I can't wait to find out. Seattle should definitely be interesting._

TBC


	71. Chapter 66

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Spoiler-ish stuff for "She Ain't Heavy." The next few chapters are going to be sort of an AU version of that episode.

White took the folder from his assistant and looked at the very tall young woman who sat bound in the chair in front of him, her brown eyes glaring at him. He smirked at her. "Now, what thoughts could be brewing behind those pretty eyes of yours? Hmmm?"

"I was thinking about how lucky I am that I don't need a knife to rip off body parts," the woman said nastily. "You want to help me decide which one of yours I should start with?"

White gave her a patronizing smile. "No need to be so hostile."

"No need to be such a prick," she snapped.

White ignored her and opened the folder, which contained all of the information that his people had been able to gather on the woman. "331487456121, designation: X5-121. You were born on May 19th, 1997 in Gillette, Wyoming, two minutes before your identical twin, X5-120. You were transferred to the Manticore facility located here in the Seattle area when you were two days old and placed with X5 Unit 3, where your commanding officer was initially X5-908, who was replaced as commanding officer of the unit by X5-494…" White paused and frowned when he saw Alec's designation. "…in June of 2010. You were placed in Psychological Operations for six months beginning in March of 2009 due to the escape of your twin and her unit. You had an admirable record on your missions and you were one of the first of the X-series soldiers that were placed into the 2020 breeding program, where your breeding partner was X5-591, the result of which I'm presuming are those beautiful twin girls that were with you when we picked you up."

"They are beautiful and if you hurt even one hair on either of their heads, I will dismember you slowly," 121 said.

"That's very nice of you, 121," White said.

"Do you have to be so formal? Call me Sasha. I insist," she said. "Where are my daughters?"

"Your daughters, 121, are perfectly fine," White said. "They will not be harmed in any way."

Sasha narrowed her eyes. "I'm not stupid. Assuming that you're not completely bullshitting me here, there's a catch somewhere. The phrase 'I don't trust you as far as I can throw you' is pretty useless considering how far I actually can throw your sorry ass, but I think you get my meaning perfectly clear. What's the catch?"

"I want you to do a favor for me," White said. "It shouldn't be too hard for someone like you." He walked right up to Sasha and looked her right in the eyes. "I want you to find X5-452 and capture her and bring her to me."

"452? One of the punks that ran back in '09?" Sasha said. She thought it over for a few minutes and nodded. "If it means my daughters are going to be okay, then I'll do it. You want anything specific done?"

"452 is to be captured and brought back to me alive," White said. "No matter what, 452 must be alive. Feel free to use whatever force short of lethal that you feel is necessary, though. I'd like for her to be brought in with as few scratches as possible because I want her to be in as good a shape as she can be for the lab technicians who are going to slice the bitch up, but if that's not possible then you have my permission to use force to subdue her."

"That sounds reasonable," Sasha said. "Do you have a picture of her so that I'll know what she looks like?"

White handed Sasha a print out of the picture that had been attached to Max's DNA analysis. "This was taken while 452 was back at Manticore after the destruction of the DNA lab."

Sasha took a good look at the picture and nodded. "Do you know where 452 is located?"

"She should be here in Seattle," White said. "For some reason, she loves this city. Also, she seems to want to go by the name Max."

"Whatever," Sasha said. "Aren't you going to untie me so that I can do this favor that you asked me to do?"

"Of course," White said. He undid the binds and Sasha stood up and rubber her wrists. "I would like to hear from you within five days."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Sasha said. She moved a lock of dark auburn hair that had fallen in her face out of the way. She looked down at White. "Like I said, if I do what you asked me to do and I come back and I find that one hair on either of their heads has been harmed…I will not be held responsible for me actions."

"Your children will not be harmed," White said. "When you bring me 452, I will personally make sure that your twins are returned to you."

"Good," Sasha said. "I guess that I will be seeing you later. I've got some equipment that I need to get. Excuse me." She left the building.

White turned to his assistant. "What's the status of 121's offspring?"

"They're fine, sir," the assistant said. "They're napping right now. Do you want to terminate them?"

"No," White said. "121 seems to be quite attached to them. They are her motivation for completing this task. She might want to see or hear proof that they are fine while she is hunting 452. 121's offspring are to be cared for as if they are normal infants until 121 brings 452 in. After that happens, I will let you know what to do with them. Bring them to location beta until I say otherwise."

"Yes, sir," the assistant said. He went off.

White looked at Max's picture and grinned. _You are in for it now, 452._

TBC


	72. Chapter 67

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max sat alone in her apartment, bored out of her mind. Original Cindy was out and Becky was out of town doing some recon on a bank that she and Max and Alec were planning on robbing within the week. She sighed in frustration and sat down on the couch. Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it gratefully.

_Finally, this could be something to do. Sundays suck._ She looked at the number and frowned when she didn't recognize it. _The only people who know my cell phone number are Zack, Original Cindy, Becky, Alec, and Jeff. I sure as hell don't give out the number to any random people. Who the hell could have gotten this number?_ She answered the call anyway. "Hello?"

"My big brother gave me this number and told me to call it when I got to Seattle," a female voice said. "I'm assuming since he was the one who gave me this number that you know what the deal is with me and him or maybe not considering how paranoid my brother can be."

Max recognized the voice after a few seconds and gasped in surprise. "Holy shit! Is that you, Rena?"

Rena was silent on the other end of the line for a few moments. "Max? This is your cell number?"

"It is," Max said. "I can't believe it's you! What happened? Why did Zack give you my number and why are you in Seattle?"

"I got into trouble at my previous location," Rena said. "I'll give you the whole long story later."

"Fine with me," Max said. "Meet me at the park in sector 7 in ten minutes. Are you close enough to that sector or do you need more time?"

"No, I can make it to where you want to meet me in ten minutes," Rena said. "I'll see you in a few minutes, Maxie."

"I'll see you soon," Max said. She put on her leather jacket and grabbed her motorcycle and wheeled it out of her apartment and out of the building. She jumped on it and rode over to the park. She got off of her bike and waited for a minute until she saw Rena arrive. She waved and Rena ran over and they hugged. "It's been a long time, Rena. You're still so damn tall."

"How much do you want to bet that I'm the tallest in our unit now?" Rena agreed.

Max shook her head. "Nope, you're at least third tallest. Krit's a little bit taller than you are and Zane's another two inches taller than that. Feel better?"

"Kind of, yeah," Rena said. "You've seen Krit and Zane since the escape?"

"Yeah, I have," Max said. "Krit's actually in town and so is Syl, plus Brin is only a few minutes away. Krit and Syl are living together."

"Living together like serious relationship together?" Rena said. "That doesn't really surprise me." She looked hopeful. "You said that you've seen Zane since the escape. How did you meet up with him? Where is he now? Is he in town?"

"I'm not sure exactly where Zane's living, but it's not in the general area and it's a long story as to how I met up with him post-escape," Max said. "Speaking of long stories, you should tell me your long story. What happened with you?"

"You've heard about how the media knows about us now," Rena said. "I was in Montana. Zack relocated me there from Madison a few weeks ago. I was just going into town to get my barcode removed and I happened to run across this group of people who'd stopped in front of an electronics store's window and they were watching the TVs in the window and guess what they were watching? I tried to leave as quietly as I could, but one of them by some stroke of luck, maybe the wind blew my hair or something, saw my barcode, and I got on my bike and I bolted. They got in their cars and chased me. I know leading a chase on my motorcycle going about 100 miles an hour with idiots occasionally firing at me in a snowstorm wasn't the smartest thing, but I didn't have an option."

"100 miles an hour on your motorcycle in a snowstorm? Nice," Max said approvingly.

"I knew you'd appreciate it," Rena said. "I still haven't told Zack the exact specifics of how I got away. He'd have a heart attack. Either that or he'd kill me."

"Knowing Zack, he'd kill you while having the heart attack," Max said.

"Anyway, I'd gone on rides on my bike late at night before so I knew the area pretty well," Rena continued. "I knew that there was this road that wound alongside this big hill and at one point on this road, there were a few blind turns that would make the people chasing me loose sight of me for long enough to completely lose them…by jumping off of my bike and letting it go off the cliff close to 200 feet and then hiding. I ducked inside of a snowdrift…" Rena shivered again. "…which also happened to be how Zane and I were able to evade the soldiers they sent out after us the night of the escape, and waited for the morons to conclude that I'd died and left. When they'd left, I got out of the snowdrift, made my way to the highway and got into a department store, got some dry clothes and some money and covered my barcode with makeup, then walked to a diner, went in, ordered some food, and called Zack and he told me to come here to Seattle and he gave me your number. After I'd talked to him and finished eating, I stole a car and drove here. It took me sixteen-and-a-half hours because I stopped once to grab two hours of sleep and to change cars, plus I stopped once for food and cash."

"Wow, you've definitely had a rough couple of days," Max said. "What do you want to do first? Do you want to get some food or do you want to get a new bike or what?"

"Whatever we happen to come across first," Rena said. "Your bike is really sweet. How long have you had it?"

"Since I first moved to Seattle," Max said. "It really is a beauty."

"I miss my bike," Rena said. "It was so awesome. I had it for four years. Zack thought that the color scheme was too flashy but that was the style, at least it was when I got the bike. You know where I can get a new one?"

"If you want a really nice one, I know where we can find one for you," Max said. "Hop on and I'll take you over there and then we can get some food and figure out where you can stay for the time being." She smiled. "After that we'll go see Krit and Syl and then Brin. Did you know that Brin is going to have a baby soon?"

"Yeah, Zack told me that Brin was pregnant through this sick breeding program that Manticore set up, but he didn't give me any other details," Rena said.

"I'm not surprised that he didn't give you any other details," Max said. "Guess who Brin's breeding partner slash father of her baby is?"

"Judging by the look on your face, not somebody who's going to make my jump for joy," Rena said. "Who?"

"Ben's twin," Max said. "His name is Alec. He's a royal smart alec and a complete pain-in-the-ass. Though even I have to admit that he's been really great about the baby since he found out that Brin had gotten out of the fire okay and was still pregnant. I think he's actually going to be a great dad."

Rena looked both a little surprised and a little amused. "Ben has a twin?"

"Hey, you have one," Max said.

"I know, when I ran into Zack's sister back in Madison she'd mentioned that she'd met my sister before," Rena said. "Speaking of Becky, is she still living here in Seattle?"

"Becky's still living here," Max said. She smiled innocently. "So is that boy Jeff that you almost did the deed with."

Rena winced. "Yeah, I probably owe him an apology for attracting him to me with those damn pheromones."

"You've got plenty of time to do it," Max said. "How about we start looking for a new bike and some food?"

"Works for me," Rena said. She grinned. "Let's head right for Krit and Syl's place afterwards. I still need to get Syl back for that prank she pulled on me a week before we left Manticore."

"I can't believe that you still remember that," Max said.

"Of course I do," Rena said with a smirk.

Max laughed. "Let's go."

TBC


	73. Chapter 68

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I can't thank you enough for letting Krit crash at your apartment," Syl said as she shut her refrigerator and handed Max a can of soda. "I'm glad I only have two more days to go until this is over. Well, it'd be over sooner if I just…"

"Been there, done that," Max said. "Way too many times. I'm lucky I haven't gotten pregnant yet."

"Me too," Syl said. "Just another thing for one of us to be grateful for."

"Thanksgiving was in November," Max said.

"I know," Syl said. She took a sip of her soda. "I can't wait until I have a niece or nephew that I can get to know."

"Hey, you might get to meet Case someday," Max said. "I know where he and his father are. You never know about Jace and her daughter, either."

"Yeah," Syl said. "Have you ever thought about having kids? I mean seriously thinking about it."

"Sometimes," Max admitted. "Zack and I aren't ready yet. We aren't even living together. I'm still rooming with Original Cindy and Zack still crashes over at Becky's when he's in Seattle. We've actually talked about the moving in deal, though, since Zack's in Seattle so much more since most of us are in this area." She sighed. "I wish he'd be back sooner than three days, but I can't help that. Hey, at least you'll be done with your heat by the time he's back in town."

"That's a relief," Syl agreed. "Did I ever tell you that when Zack finally found Krit and me after the escape, I was starting my first heat?" She picked up on the way that Max tensed and smiled. "Relax, little sister, we didn't have sex. We came close, but we didn't make it. It's actually kind of a funny story."

"Then tell me it," Max said. "I love a good story."

"No problem," Syl said. "About a month after the escape, Krit and I got to Chicago and hooked up with a group of kids that had been living on the streets for some time. They were about our age or so. I think Jasper, he was the oldest and the leader, was a little older than Zack and the youngest member of our group, who joined us about a year after we got to Chicago, was a little younger than you and Krit. It was actually pretty nice. Yeah, we lived on the streets or wherever we could find some temporary shelter that the cops wouldn't care about, but it was still fun. It almost felt like a family again, you know? We had a new family. We were with those kids for a little more than three years so I was fourteen when this happened. I was starting to be both a little worried and a little relieved that I hadn't had my heat yet. I knew that Tinga had her first heat when she was only eleven and Elle and most of the other older girls that we knew back at Manticore got their first heats when they were about twelve. I don't know about you, but that's how it seemed to go. Kinda normal, wasn't it?"

Max nodded. "I know how you feel. I didn't have my first heat until I was fifteen."

"You must have been how clueless as I was when you started getting the first…I guess you would call them 'symptoms' for a lack of a better word," Syl said. "I felt a little warmer than normal that day and I noticed that Krit and Jasper and the other boys but Krit especially were looking at me like they were ready and waiting to make out with me or something. Definitely one step from mentally undressing me. I still felt in control of myself so I didn't think too much of it. It was kind of a hot day to begin with, too. We were shacked up for the past week on the top floor of an abandoned factory kind of close to downtown. Needless to say there was no air conditioning to the point where it was actually cooler to stand outside which is what I ended up doing. I was standing out there trying to stay in as much of whatever shade there was as I could when I see this guy standing on the street corner staring at me. He looked so familiar but I didn't recognize him yet and I didn't care because holy shit, he had the most luscious body, the kind that you could just li—"

Max leaned over the table and slapped Syl hard across the face. "Feel better?"

"I do, thanks," Syl said gratefully. "I should have had a clue because he looked like was seriously trying to resist the pheromones that I was sending over to him. You've seen back at Manticore how impossible it was for an X5 guy to resist jumping a girl that was in heat, even when it was a first heat and the girl was pretty young. Zack couldn't resist forever, the fact that he managed to resist it for a full five seconds speaks a lot about how strong-willed he was, or just how crazy he was about you even back then. He had me pinned against the wall of the building and we were practically playing full contact tonsil hockey in public." Syl laughed. "And that's when your sweet little brother, who had finally woken up from a nap that he was taking because the heat was draining even his energy, smelled the pheromones, saw me making out with an apparently random guy, got jealous, and grabbed the jug of water that one of the others had left on the windowsill and dumped it on us. I swear, it was right out of one of those really old pre-pulse comedy flicks."

Max was laughing. "You got seriously busted there, sis. That had to have sucked."

"It wasn't until after I had come out of it that I first found it funny," Syl admitted. "At the time I was just happy that the water was actually cold. It shocked me enough to go running to somewhere safe and out of Krit and Zack's respective ranges. Krit then had the nerve to go outside and confront Zack about it, even though we weren't even thinking of dating then."

"When will Krit ever learn?" Max said.

"I've been working on that for those first three years and then the last year or so, since we've been dating," Syl agreed. "He told me that he ran right out there and threw a punch at Zack and he almost pissed himself when Zack blocked it. He thought Manticore had caught up with him and I and he would have bolted if Zack's head hadn't cleared then and he recognized Krit. Zack stayed just out of town until my heat was over and then he came back and took Krit out of town somewhere and then he came back and relocated me."

"That must have been so hard," Max said. "I guess I was kind of lucky in that respect, you know?"

"I think Zack was the lucky one," Syl said. "I can only imagine the kind of hell you and Jondy would have put him through when he would have tried to separate you two if you hadn't fallen through that ice the night we escaped."

"What kind of sucks now is that I actually know where Jondy is, but Zack won't let me go see her," Max said. She rolled her eyes. "What sucks even worse is that I'm actually agreeing with that now, especially with the situation the way it is."

"Yet he still sent Rena here when she ran into trouble," Syl growled.

"What's the matter?" Max said innocently. "I thought you liked Rena."

"Rena's our sister and I love her but covering my bathroom in slime wasn't exactly necessary," Syl said. "I'd like to know how she got her hands on that stuff."

"Oh, you know Rena," Max said. "She'll—" She turned towards the window. "Did you hear something? It was pretty faint."

"I heard it," Syl said. "Across the street coming from a window on the same level as us. I couldn't identify the exact sound."

"It sounded familiar to me," Max said. She motioned to Syl and they walked over to the window and looked outside and to the window directly across the street from them.

"Oh, it's only Rena," Syl said, relieved. She sat down on the floor and stretched. "I only caught a glimpse of her as she ducked around a corner, but it was enough to let me see her face for a second. It was definitely her."

"It couldn't have been her," Max said. "Her new apartment is four or five blocks from here, not across the street." She took another look. "Whoever it was, she's not there." She frowned. "I found what we heard before, though. It's a portable surveillance device."

"It is?" Syl said. She got up and zoomed in. "I've never seen that one before."

"I didn't either until October," Max said. "Becky showed it to me. It's a military model that came out around the beginning of 2016 and they taught them how to use them at Manticore. It was apparently a favorite of a lot of the soldiers there. Becky has one and she used it when we were doing recon on a job and she even showed me how to use it. It does everything. Records video, records audio, the works."

"Rena wouldn't know how to use one of those, would she?" Syl asked.

"She shouldn't," Max said. "I guess she could have picked one up on the black market and figured out on her own how to use it, but I don't know." She zoomed in again on the other window. "It's not Rena."

Syl zoomed in and saw a glimpse of the woman just behind a corner. Her face was hidden, but she could still see part of her, including her neck and the last couple of digits on the barcode. "121? What the hell?"

"Rena's twin," Max said. "She was in Alec's unit back at Manticore. She doesn't have any reason to be spying on us, though. I can't come up with anything…" She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Alec's number. "It's Max. Shut up, you ass, I'm being serious. I'm over at Syl's and we spotted somebody spying on us from a window across the street. This has to do with you because that someone happens to be X5-121. No, don't actually come to Syl and Krit's place. Syl's in heat. Thanks a lot, Alec." She hung up and started to dial another number. "I'm going to call Rena and get her to come over to stay with you at least while I get back to my place to change out of these clothes."

"Max, I might be in heat but I do not need a babysitter," Syl said.

"Syl…" Max started to say, but she saw the look on Syl's face and sighed and nodded. "Don't leave."

"I won't," Syl said. She laughed a little. "I thought you were going to go all Zack on me."

"Nothing wrong with wanting to protect my sister," Max said. "Stay safe." She turned around and left the apartment.

TBC


	74. Chapter 69

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Alec casually strolled through the streets. _I guess I should be happy that 121 is in the city, but why the hell would she be spying on Max or Syl? There's the whole 'grudge against the '09er sibling for the extended Psy Ops trip' thing, but I let go of that even before Manticore got deep fried and I know that Becky never held anything against Zack after she found out. 121 does tend to hold grudges a little longer than I do, though. Who knows?_ He paused when he saw the back of her and smiled a little. "Apparently, you've been a naughty girl recently." He smirked and waited for Sasha to turn around and say something rude and then give him a hug. She turned around, but she almost jumped a mile and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Either you're dead or Zack has to be the biggest fucking liar on the planet who's getting a royal beating when he's back in town," she said.

Alec frowned for a moment in confusion, then smiled and nodded. "Neither on both counts. I'm Ben's twin, Alec. I'm guessing you must be Rena."

Rena looked relieved. "Pleased to meet you, I guess. So you're the guy who knocked Brin up."

"Guilty as charged," Alec said. "Brin mentioned to me yesterday that you had gotten into Seattle."

"Yeah," Rena said. "Got in, got settled, got a new bike, it's all good."

"I'd say," Alec said, looking at Rena's bike. He whistled. "That's a beauty. How much did you pay for it or how many guys did you leave conscious for it?"

"Why would you think that I would do something like that?" Rena said.

"I know your twin very well and you are one of Max's best friends," Alec said. He winced when Rena smacked him across the back of his head, but still managed a smirk. "I can see why you and Max got along so well back when you were all at cozy little Gillette way back when."

"I didn't have to beat anybody up," Rena said. "The guy that I took this from was so damn high he barely noticed after I flirted with him a bit." She shrugged. "I was doing him and the rest of the world a favor by swiping this bike from him anyway. Nobody should be that fried and driving any sort of vehicle or bike on the road."

"Quite true," Alec said. "No offense, Rena, but I've got a favor to do for Max and I don't want to waste anymore time. Max sounded serious enough when she called me a few minutes ago."

"I won't keep you," Rena said. "Do you need my help?"

"Sure, why not?" Alec said. "Hell, with the bike, it might go faster."

"Hop on, then," Rena said. "Where to?"

"The area by your sister Syl's apartment," Alec said. "We'll start there."

"Okay," Rena said. She got on the bike and waited for Alec to get on behind her and then took off. "What exactly is this favor that you're doing for Max?"

"It has to do with your twin," Alec said. "Apparently when Max was visiting Syl, they spotted her in an apartment across the street from them spying on them. 121 would have no reason as far as we know to spy on them, so Max decided to ask me to try to find 121 and ask her what she was doing because Max knew that 121 would at least give me the time of day because we were in the same unit back at Manticore. I was actually her commanding officer. The only other person she'd at least listen to that I can think of would be our fellow unit mate 511, but I don't know where he is."

"Think she'd listen to me?" Rena asked. "Or would her long-lost twin being around while you question her just piss her off? I know that I've held my fair share of grudges including this nice one that I had against Zack for a few years. If I can hold a grudge against even him, I can imagine that she'd be the same way. Then again, maybe not. You strike me as not exactly the same as Ben was."

"So I've been told," Alec said. "I have no idea how she feels about you in particular. The last time we talked, she didn't have warm and fuzzy feelings about you and your family, but that was back in June. She might have changed. If anything can make you change, it's becoming a parent. I've even become more mature emotionally and my kid hasn't even been born yet."

"My twin was in the breeding program?" Rena said.

"Not only that, but she told me that she was expecting twins," Alec said. "Sure makes me feel better about only having the one baby. I can't imagine what it's like to have two at the same time."

"If you find either my surrogate or yours, you can ask them," Rena said. "Or when we find 121, you can ask her." She pulled her bike up to a lamppost and stopped. "We're in the right neighborhood. Should we go on foot from here for awhile?"

Alec nodded. "Let's check out the apartment that 121 was in. If we're lucky, she'll still be there. It's only two blocks from here."

"Right," Rena said. They got off of the bike and chained it securely to the lamppost and walked off. The reached the correct building and went inside it and up to the right floor. They listened carefully for any sounds coming from the apartment. "I don't hear anything. I don't think she's in."

"And we came all this way for nothing." Alec pretended to be disappointed. "Oh, well, we might as well stop in anyway." He reached inside his pocket for a credit card that he'd swiped the other day and opened the door and he and Rena entered the apartment. Alec went over to the window and spotted the surveillance device. "We're definitely in the apartment that 121 occupied. She left this behind."

"What's that?" Rena asked. "That looks pretty cool."

"It's a surveillance device. It came out and we were trained on how to use this years after you left Manticore," Alec said. He shook his head. "She's not normally this sloppy, though. She knows better than to leave incriminating equipment behind."

"Maybe she was in a rush when she left," Rena suggested.

"Yeah, but in a rush for what?" Alec wondered. "Check the rest of the apartment. Let's see if 121 left behind anything else." He wandered over to the kitchen and looked at the photos and child's drawings and school assignments that were stuck onto it. "I think it's safe to say that this isn't her apartment."

"You're right," Rena said. "I didn't find anything in the master bedroom. I haven't searched the second one, but it looks like it's a children's room but only for one child that's definitely older than a newborn."

"Okay…she's not here…she left in a rush…where to and why?" Alec thought for a few minutes before he looked back up at Rena. He made a motion to her and they quickly left the apartment and got back to Rena's motorcycle and took off.

TBC


	75. Chapter 70

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max carefully looked around her as she left Syl's apartment building. _No sign of 121 yet. There better not be a sign of her. If I can just get back to my apartment and call Zack—screw it, why should I wait to call him?_ She took out her cell phone and speed dialed Zack's number. "It's me. I've got a possible situation."

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"I was visiting Syl and we spotted someone that we originally believed to be Rena in the window of the apartment directly across the street from us," Max informed him. "She had a surveillance device with her, the kind that we've seen Becky use before, and as far as we know Rena wouldn't know how to use it. She got out of sight for a minute when she realized that we'd seen her, but she came back into view just enough for us to take a look at her barcode. It was Rena's twin, 121."

"That doesn't make any sense," Zack said.

"I know," Max said. "I called Alec, since he was her commander back at Manticore, to find her and dig up the 411. I told Syl that I'd call Rena or Becky to come over to stay with her, but she refused pretty quickly. I couldn't blame her. She was right, though. Whether she's in heat or not in heat, she's more than capable of defending herself and I know that she and Krit have some weapons stashed around their crib. She should be safe enough."

"Most likely," Zack conceded. "Maxie, you need to be careful at least until you find out what 121 was doing and what her motives are."

"Lie low and get the info," Max agreed. "I'm on my way back to my place right now. I might call Becky or Jeff and have one of them swing by." She smirked. "Does that make you feel better?"

Zack sighed. "Yes it does. I'm in Savannah checking up on Wayne, but I can get to Seattle in three days, maybe less if you need me."

"I don't know if I'll need you, but I'll see you in three days," Max said. "Tell Wayne I said hi and I miss him."

"I miss you too, Maxie," Wayne said in the background on the other end. "Keep this asshole in line."

Max laughed. "I'll do my best, Wayne. I love you, Zack." She disconnected and put her phone away and continued towards her apartment.

* * *

Sasha caught her breath in the lobby as she waited for Max to leave Syl's apartment building. _I must be out of shape if I'm a little winded after running down the stairs for thirteen floors. I haven't done that kind of exercise since months before Jade and Julia were born._ She stiffened when she saw Max start walking and waited a few more moments before she started to follow her, carefully keeping enough distance so that she wouldn't be spotted. _Yeah, try spotting me now you '09er bitch. Did they have you play Escape and Evade solo against a full unit of other X5s when they were testing you for solo ops? I think not!_

She paused for half a second when she saw Max pull out her cell phone and call Zack. _Damn, the situation is more critical than I thought. She's smarter than I've been giving her credit for. If I'm going to make my move, I've got to make it as soon as possible._

* * *

Max hissed in frustration when she reached a busy intersection. _Damn, the light just had to turn red when I got here, didn't it? If there weren't so many people and hoverdrones around, I'd kick the—_

"Max!"

Max turned around and managed to put a smile on her face when she saw Sasha running up to her. Sasha had a cheerful-looking smile on her face and Max guessed the game she was playing in a heartbeat. "There you are, Rena. I thought you said that you were going to be busy all day getting stuff settled in your crib."

"I thought I'd take a break," Sasha said. "I can't go at it for hours on end without going crazy from the boredom." She shrugged. "What are you doing?"

"I was just visiting Syl at her place," Max said. "You know how much it sucks to be cooped up away from the world when you're in heat. I was going to head back to my place when this light finally changes. You wanna come with?" Yeah, you wanna come with me over to Jeff's apartment? It's only a few blocks from here and I know for a fact that he's there. At least he said that he'd be at his place all day.

"That sounds perfect," Sasha said. _Do I look like an idiot, 452? I know you're taking me to someone else's place. It's either that or another transgenic is over at your apartment. I guess I have to pretend to be my dear sister for a little longer. No big deal. I can be patient, especially considering what I know the end result is going to be!_

"Great," Max said. The light changed and the crossed the street. "I'm glad that you're settling into Seattle as well as you are."

"I've had a lot of practice at settling into new cities and towns," Sasha said. "It gets easier each time you do it."

"I've never moved around that much," Max said honestly. "I didn't get back into contact with Zack until last year or so. I first moved here to Seattle in the spring of 2018. After the escape, I was in L.A. for the first few months until about the time of the Pulse and then I got out of there and went east a little bit into Nevada and I lived there a few miles southeast of Vegas for the next four years. After that I moved back to California and I lived in Sacramento for two years before I moved to San Francisco and I lived there until I moved here to Seattle." She laughed. "I missed Jondy there by a month."

"Darn the bad timing," Sasha said.

"Yeah. At least I did get to see Jondy once after the escape," Max said.

"You're lucky," Sasha said honestly. _She is lucky as hell. I miss my unit, even the people that I didn't get along with most of the time. I definitely miss 494 a lot and 511…don't you dare go soft now, Sasha! Your daughters' lives are at stake here. You need to focus!_

"Here we are," Max said. She pretended to reach into her pocket for a key and swore. "Damn, I must have left my key back at Syl's when I emptied my pocket to find my cell phone when Krit called me." She shrugged and reached under the welcome mat and yanked the key that had been stuck on the bottom of it off. "I'm glad I keep a spare."

"That is a good thing," Sasha agreed. _It's not her apartment._

"Well, make yourself at home," Max said as she opened the door. "I'll see if my roommate is here. Hey, anybody home?" She felt her stomach drop a little when Jeff didn't answer back. _Jeff, if you're playing a game with me…_ "I'm back, you can come out of hiding now."

"Nobody home, huh, 452?" Sasha said. She smiled coldly.

"I guess not, 121," Max said.

"You '09ers are smarter than most people that were back at Manticore gave you credit for," Sasha said.

"We must have been if we kept them off of our asses for so long," Max said sweetly. "My name is Max, by the way. Do you have a name, or do you just go by 121? I can think of a few if you like."

"Very funny," Sasha said. "My name is Sasha." She reached for her gun and almost swore out loud. _Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have rushed out of that apartment! Not only did I leave my surveillance equipment there, I left my damn gun! I can still take 452, I've got much more training on her, but it's going to be closer than I want it to be._ "Let's get to the point here, 452."

"Even without your gun?" Max said.

"Yes, even without my gun," Sasha mocked. "It's pretty simple. I don't know what the hell you did, but I got caught by whoever's hunting us down and unless I turn your ass into him—"

"I should have know," Max said. "Your friend and mine, Special Agent Ames White."

"The one and only," Sasha said. "The point is, I'm going to take you and hand you over to him. He doesn't want you dead, which is kind of a shame. I don't know. I personally don't have a use for you whether you're dead or alive so I guess it doesn't matter to me but he really wants your sorry ass breathing when I hand you over. He doesn't care how many pieces it's in when I give you to him. You really must have pissed him off, 452."

"Gee, with an attitude like that, I'm not surprised that you practically grew up calling Renfro 'Mommy,'" Max said.

There was a flash of anger and pain in Sasha's eyes. _Mommy…if I don't get your ass to White, I'm never going to hear my girls call me that sometime._ "I don't have any time for this. I'm handing you over to White whether you like it or not."

"And I'm not going to let you do that whether you like it or not," Max said. There was a knock at the door.

"Oh, this is not funny," Sasha snapped. Not taking her eyes off of Max, she backed towards the door and yanked it opened and turned around and was surprised when she saw a mirror image of herself standing there.

"Long time no see, sis," Rena said.

"Holy shit," Sasha said. _Crap, this is not what I need! I don't need this!_ "Yeah, it has been a long time, but would you mind leaving for a bit? I'm just getting acquainted with your sister Max."

"Sure," Rena said. She apparently casually tapped her fingers against the doorframe quickly glanced over Sasha's shoulder and smiled. "Oh, and sis? Don't turn your back on an opponent." Sasha whirled around and barely blocked Max's punch and was about to throw one of her own when she suddenly dropped to the floor.

"What the hell?" Max said. She looked down and saw the tranquilizer dart sticking out of Sasha's upper back. "Who the hell did that?"

"That would be me and you can thank me all you want," Alec said. He stepped into view and held up the tranquilizer gun that he'd used to shoot Sasha. "This baby is loaded with a sedative powerful enough to give a mountain lion the personality of a sweet little pet kitten, so she should be out for a few hours."

"Why would you have a tranquilizer gun on you in the first place?" Max asked.

"I got it to scare Maggie," Alec said.

"What!" Max said.

"Who's Maggie?" Rena asked.

"She's Brin's roommate," Max said. "She's an X6 that was in Becky's unit. You'll meet her later." She turned back to Alec. "Why the hell would you threaten a teenage girl with a tranquilizer gun?"

"She was annoying the hell out of me," Alec said. "I shudder to think of you at her age. Don't get me wrong, Maggie is a sweet girl about ninety percent of the time but the other ten percent of the time she is the biggest pain-in-the-ass known to man. Besides, she was the one who said 'Prove it' when I told her that I'd get a tranquilizer gun and bring it over the next time I was at her and Brin's place and she pissed me off again."

Max smacked him across the back of his head. "Moron."

"Geez, what is it with you and your sisters and smacking me across the back of my head?" Alec complained.

"Why don't you figure it out for yourself?" Max said.

Rena shook her head and walked over to where her sister lay unconscious on the floor. _I finally meet my twin sister for the first time since we were days old at most and this is what happens. I guess it figures._ Something sticking out of one of Sasha's jean pockets caught her eye and she carefully took it out of the pocket and looked it and managed to stifle a gasp.

"Relax, Max," Alec said.

"You're right," Max said. "We need to find out why Sasha, as she generously told me her name was, is working with White."

"I think I know why," Rena said quietly. She handed the item that she had taken from her sister's pocket to Max.

"Oh my God," Max said softly. It was a photograph taken of two beautiful baby girls who couldn't be more than a month old.

Alec leaned over Max's shoulder and nodded grimly. "They must be her children."

Max handed the photograph back to Rena, who put it back in Sasha's pocket. "Come on. We need to get her to the safehouse and call the others. It looks like we have a rescue mission to plan."

TBC


	76. Chapter 71

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"This is weird," Becky said as they sat in a circle on the floor of the safehouse. She looked over at Sasha, who was still out cold, and shook her head in disbelief. "Then again, who here shouldn't have seen this one coming?"

"White might be as freaky as we are, but he is more textbook bad guy than Lydecker was," Max agreed.

"I don't think I've ever seen Sasha this quiet," Alec said. "When she finally comes to, she's going to be pretty pissed off at all of you."

"Gee, what made you come to that conclusion?" Max said.

"What are we waiting for, anyway?" Krit asked. "Shouldn't we just call up Zack and Syl and get this over with?"

"I wish," Max said. "We need Sasha to wake up so that she can tell us where White is or at least was."

"Well, it looks like you won't have to wait much longer and you're going to be really glad that you cuffed her before we took her out of Jeff's place," Alec remarked when he noticed Sasha starting to stir. Sasha blinked, saw Max sitting across from her, and started to lunge as best as she could in that direction. Alec grabbed her shoulder and tanked her back. "I really don't think that would be the most productive move there, Sasha."

Sasha looked confused as to how Alec knew her name, but shrugged it off. "Really? That bitch cost me my chance to get my children back. Maybe you don't know what it's like, 494, because who knows where 734 is, but I need to get my little girls back and I will absolutely murder anybody who comes in my way. I'd sell out anybody; I'd even sell out Director Renfro to get back my daughters."

"Actually, Renfro already sold us out. She was the one who lit the match on Manticore," Alec said. "I was the one who knocked you out. I shot you with a tranquilizer dart when you were distracted by Max. And Brin is over at her apartment about ten minutes from here and I'm going to be a father within the next two weeks so I do have an idea as to how you're feeling."

"You're joking, right? Renfro tried to have us all killed?" Sasha said.

"He's not lying…for once," Max said. "I was in the room when she gave the order."

"Why should I listen to you? You think you're so smart, you damn '09er?" Sasha hissed. "How can you listen to one of them, 494? How can you stand being in the same room with one of them? You know damn well what the two of us had to go through because of those punks!"

"Six months is Psy Ops, being watched even more than a hawk for at least another year, been there, done that," Becky said coolly. "At least they gave you and Alec the common courtesy of letting you know why you two were being singled out for the extra-special treatment."

"How would you know that, 405?" Sasha said. "You should have gotten the same three months in Psy Ops and that's it that all the other five and six C.O.s got."

"Actually Zack, whom you probably lovingly refer to as 599, is my older brother," Becky said. "I didn't find that one out until the summer. And did I scream and rant and beat the crap out of him for putting me through all that hell? No, I didn't. I knew who was really to blame for all of that."

"Yeah, well, you were practically Wyoming's Little Miss Perfect," Sasha said. She turned back to Alec. "How the hell could you be okay with it? Have you forgotten what your own twin did?"

"Ben had his reasons," Alec said. "He had slightly different experiences than you and I did and they affected him differently. It could have been me or it even could have been you."

"What, no ranting at me yet for ruining your life or have you just not gotten around to it yet?" Rena said sarcastically.

"Hell, I already said pretty much everything I was going to say to you," Sasha said. "I've only got one 'rant at or about an '09er' speech. I guess it can be applied to different people. Don't you love multipurpose speeches like that?"

"They're the best," Rena said sarcastically. "How about we drop this nasty bitch act and get down to business? Believe it or not, we all want to help you get the girls back."

"Oh yeah?" Sasha said. "Try again later. I'm going to bring in 452 to White and I'm going to get my daughters and then I'm going off with them and I'm going to live as quiet a life as I can. I got to meet my twin again and it was just so much fun, but Jade and Julia are all of the family that I need and I don't need your help getting them back." She shrugged. "Maybe 494's help, but nobody else. I don't trust any of you."

"You don't know any of us, so I'd say that's actually fair," Jeff said.

"You always were a little smug know-it-all bastard, weren't you, 941?" Sasha said nastily.

"Drop it," Rena snapped. "You know damn well that you can't rescue your daughters by yourself and the odds are that even with Alec with you, the two of you wouldn't have much luck trying to get them back. Before you even start with me on how many missions you went on and how I couldn't have possibly gone on more than one group mission before I bailed on Manticore, how about I point out that even with all that experience that you might have on me, White still found you and your twins and is holding them and in essence you hostage? I don't give a damn what you think about all of us helping you and I can even ignore how much it hurts to know that you think so little of me your own flesh and blood, but you are going to have to suck it up like the good soldier that I know that you were going to attempt to shove in my face and accept our help. We honestly care about you, Sasha. We care about you and we care about your daughters, who in case you forgot are also my nieces and they are my flesh and blood too and I'd also move heaven and hell to keep them safe. So what do you think about that or are you still too high and mighty to accept our help?"

Sasha looked stunned. "I—120—"

"My name is Rena just like your name is Sasha," Rena said. "What, did the cat get your tongue? Don't forget to say hi to the cat, it might just be a relative of ours too and it might also want to help."

"You bitch," Sasha said.

"It takes one to know one," Rena said, smirking.

"I hate you," Sasha said.

"You kind of already said that," Rena said sarcastically. "I hate you, damn '09er, it was something along those lines. Don't hold back, Sasha, tell us how you really feel."

"Fine!" Sasha screamed. "I don't hate you for running, I hate you for being right about running! I hate myself for not getting the nerve to make my own break! I even hated 494 for awhile for not giving us the idea to run from that God-forsaken place! There! Are you satisfied now, Rena? Does that make you happy!" She burst into tears.

The other sat around, stunned. "Holy crap," Max said quietly.

"Sasha, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that," Rena said. "I feel horrible."

"No," Sasha managed to say. "I guess I had to get it out. I'm so stressed with getting caught and my babies…I just want to hold my babies…" She burst into tears again.

"You will," Alec said. "Trust all of us, not just me. You don't have to like any of the others right now, just trust them."

Sasha nodded. "One question first, though." She turned to Rena. "If you and Ben had known about me and 494, what would you have done?"

"My whole family's first thing to do after busting out of Gillette would have been to go to Seattle and break you two out," Rena said immediately.

Sasha looked at her twin and nodded. "I believe you." She managed a smirk. "I'm not the best liar. How good can she be?" The others laughed.

"Not the best," Krit agreed. "She could fool any and all authority figures, but we could always read her like an open book."

"Speaking of open, let's get you out of those cuffs, Sasha," Max said. She reached into her pocket for the key and unlocked the cuffs from Sasha's wrists and ankles.

"Thanks…Max," Sasha said. "Thanks, 494, for not being a total ass to me."

"Makes a first," Max mumbled.

"You're talking to someone who knows even better than you how big of an idiot this guy can be," Sasha said.

"Great," Alec said. "Where's 511 when you need him?" He sighed and smiled at Sasha. "You're welcome, though. My name's Alec."

"I can hardly imagine why that would be your name," Sasha deadpanned.

"I'm Becky," Becky said.

"I'm Jeff," Jeff said.

"I'm Krit," Krit said.

"Brin's obviously out of commission for the time being and Maggie should stay close to Brin in case something happens with the baby," Max said. She saw how Alec started to get fidgety and smiled. "Don't worry, Alec, I'm sure nothing will happen."

"Yeah," Sasha said. "My pregnancy was a breeze...well, it was once I'd gotten over the morning sickness, and I had twins. Brin will be fine." She paused. "Brin is 734, right?"

"Right," Max said.

Sasha's cell phone rang and she took it out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Well, what do you know? It's our favorite buddy calling us to say hi." She answered it. "Hello, White. How are my daughters?"

"No worries, 121, they're perfectly fine," White said.

"I'll believe it when I'll see them," Sasha said.

"I was just calling to check up on your progress," White said. "You only have another five days left."

Sasha made a gesture with her free hand to the others and Max made one back. "Actually, I don't need five days. I've got her right now."

"Really?" White said.

"It was easy. She saw me first," Sasha said. "All I had to do was pretend to be my own twin and presto. I'd put her on the line, but she's very grouchy when you interrupt her sleep."

"I'll believe it when I see her," White mocked.

"No problem," Sasha said smoothly. "Are you using a camera phone that can send and receive photo messages?"

"Yes," White said.

"I send you a picture of 452 and you send me a picture of my daughters," Sasha said. "That sounds fair, don't you think?"

"It does," White said.

"Good," Sasha said. "Give me a minute." She hit hold on her phone and Max got up and lay down on the floor. Alec tossed Krit, who was closest to Max, the cuffs that Sasha had been wearing and Krit cuffed Max's wrists and ankles. Sasha used her camera phone and took a quick picture and sent it to White and then took him off of hold. "There you go. One bound and sleeping 452. I even got her all in one unbroken piece, just like you wanted."

"Very nice," White said. "You'll find that photo message of your daughters in your inbox. Unfortunately, I won't be able to accept 452 until our original deadline was going to expire. Can you keep 452 until then? You waited nine months for your children to be born. This shouldn't be too hard. It doesn't sound hard."

"It's not hard at all," Sasha lied. _Waiting to get my girls back is only the hardest thing I'm going to do in my life!_ "How are we going to execute the transfer?"

"I will arrive in Seattle and pick up you and 452 and then I will bring you over to your children and you will receive them and the three of you will be let go," White said.

"I was trained better than that," Sasha said. "That has to be the biggest load of horseshit I've smelled since I last heard Director Renfro speak to us. How about you meet me in Seattle, but I follow you with 452 in my own vehicle to the rendezvous spot? That sounds quite doable to me."

"I'm willing to compromise," White said. "When I meet you in Seattle in five days, if you're there with 452 and another transgenic, we will go with your plan. I'll call you again in four days to give you a rendezvous site in the city." He disconnected.

Sasha disconnected and immediately opened the inbox and the new message that was inside it and gasped and put her free hand to her mouth. "My babies," she whispered.

Rena looked over her shoulder and smiled. "They're absolutely beautiful. Which one's Jade and which one's Julia?"

"Jade is on the left and Julia is on the right," Sasha said. "I have a picture of them that I took last week." She put her phone down and reached into her pocket and took out the picture that Rena had put back there before they moved her to the safehouse. "They're not identical, thank goodness." She grinned. "Neither of them have a barcode."

"That's a relief," Alec said sincerely. "Who's the father, Sasha?"

"Alec!" Max snapped as Krit was unlocking the cuffs.

"He's actually asking a valid question," Sasha said. "Unfortunately, their father is my breeding partner, 591. He's some random X5 that was from the New York facility. I wish their father was someone else."

"Who?" Krit asked.

"511," Alec and Jeff said in unison.

"You were cheating on your breeding partner? Way to go, sis!" Rena said.

"I wish I had been able to cheat on him," Sasha said. "511 and I had a romantic relationship for the past several years or so before the DNA lab blew. It was obviously in secret. Alec covered for us a lot when we'd see each other. We were best friends our whole lives, us and Alec, but then 511 and I just…" She sighed. "Manticore got stricter on everything after the DNA lab thing and 511 and I couldn't get around the breeding program and see each other after lights out like we used to do."

"So I guess if you're a part of or at least connected to my family in some way and you were stuck at Manticore, you had a secret relationship," Max said with a smirk. "I bet if Brin had been there longer, she would have found herself a lab tech or a fellow transgenic to get her swerve on with." She became serious. "I wish we could talk about it forever, but we need to get to work." She and Krit got out their cell phones and dialed Zack's and Syl's numbers respectively and sent the phones down between them. "I just love conference calls. Here's the dealio. Sasha, that's Rena's twin's name, is here with us and White called her to check her progress. We let him believe that she got me and White's gonna play her game only if she shows up with me and someone else."

"Got it," Zack said. "So we've got ten of us on this. That should be an adequate number even if White has a force similar to that when Suzanne died."

"Ten?" Max repeated.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind me tagging along with Zack," Wayne said. "He was going to relocate me to somewhere else in the southeast but since he was pretty worried after you got that call, I thought I'd make sure he didn't wreck on the way over."

Max laughed. _I wonder how close Zack's hands are from Wayne's throat right now._ "I appreciate it. Seriously, the more the merrier. All right, let's get some ideas going." They paused while they thought about it. "I think that we should confuse him. White seems to have control issues to me."

"How should we confuse him?" Krit asked. "I haven't dealt with him like most of you have."

"How about a twin switch?" Syl suggested. "Have Rena get the babies and then when it looks like White won't let you go, have Sasha step in. White won't know which twin is which and that's when the cavalry will come in."

"That sounds like a good basic plan," Zack agreed.

"One potential problem in that, though," Sasha said. "I won't put anything past my daughters, even as young as they are. They might be able to tell somehow that it's not really their mom but their aunt that's holding them. I don't think they'll react negatively to Rena, but I don't want to chance it."

"So we need to have Sasha be the one to get the babies," Alec said.

"How about we still fake him out?" Max said. "We follow Syl's plan but we don't switch twins, we just switch barcodes. Rena and Sasha will get their barcodes removed and then we'll tattoo the other's barcode on them. If White decides that he wants to look at a barcode, he'll see one or two that will apparently back up what's going on if he gets the chance to look at them."

"Nice idea," Becky said. "What about the other transgenic that White wants with Max?"

"It should be either Becky or Jeff with Sasha and Max," Zack said. "We need an ace in the hole for the second transgenic."

"How about we up the confusion level?" Max said.

"What do you mean?" Wayne asked.

"I think I know what she means," Zack said. "Becky, are you ready to possibly come back from the dead?"

Becky picked up on the idea and nodded. "Yeah, being dead is boring."

"We burn off Becky's barcode if she hasn't done that on her own already and tattoo Syl's barcode onto Becky's neck," Max elaborated. "When Sasha and Becky and I meet White here in Seattle, Becky has her face covered, but her neck accessible enough so that White can get to the barcode. Syl and Becky are about the same height and Syl's hair is only a shade lighter than Becky's. The most White can possibly know about Syl is that she's a blond who's about 5'8" or so. If Becky's face is covered, they're physically similar enough to convince White. If we need to throw White off of his game more than he will be, this should do it."

"And the rest of us will follow you four," Alec said. "Rena will get out at some point and move into a position where she can enter the building and confront Sasha. The rest of us will move into a position where we can provide the needed support. The exact points we'll figure when we get there."

"I'll try to get any kind of recon done to see if we can find out exactly where White's holding Sasha's kids so we can get a better jump on him," Jeff said. "I'll probably need one or two others to go with me."

"It sounds like we have it at least temporarily mapped out then," Zack said. "We'll make it work."

"I hope so," Sasha said. "It has to work. I'm going to get my children back and nothing will stop me. That's it. No questions asked."

TBC


	77. Chapter 72

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Are you sure you can break out of these cuffs?" Sasha asked Becky as she fastened a different set of handcuffs around Becky's wrists five days later.

"Positive," Becky said. "These are the kind that they used on me whenever I had Escape and Evade back at Manticore. I can't count how many times I've broken out of them. It'll probably leave a bruise or two, but it won't be a problem."

"Good because I'm giving you the keys to them," Sasha said. She locked the cuffs and put the keys in the pocket of the leather jacket that Becky had borrowed from Syl. She reached back down into her bag and pulled out the small burlap sack. "Ready, Becky?"

"Go," Becky said. Sasha pulled the bag over Becky's head.

"Can you breathe all right?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Becky said. "Is my tattoo okay? Is there any smudging?"

Sasha went around to the back of Becky, moved Becky's braid aside and pulled down the neck of the black turtleneck that she was wearing. "The tattoo looks absolutely fine." She walked over to Max and moved her hair out of the way pulled down her own shirt collar. "How's mine?"

"Perfect," Max said. She squirmed around a little. She hated being cuffed even when she knew it was for a good cause. "There's no way they can mistake you for anybody other than Rena." She tilted her head a little when she heard the sound of a car approaching. "Looks like it's show time."

"Just a few hours at most," Sasha said to herself. She straightened up and put a cold smirk on her face as she saw a car pull up to them and White get out of the car. "Hello, Agent White."

"121, I have to admit that you have certainly done what I have asked of you," White said. "It's nice to deal with a reasonable transgenic. I tried working with your former commanding officer one time and he didn't come through for me. That's how I met 452 for the first time."

"How charming," Sasha said. "494 was a great commander, but he did have a tendency to get uncooperative when he was working under an officer he didn't care for." She nudged Becky. "Here's transgenic number two, X5-701. It was as easy as pie. Just like I did with 452, I pretended that I was my twin and bingo. Those '09ers really trust in their own."

"I guess we know who wins the nature vs. nurture debate," Max said sarcastically.

"I left 452 unmasked. I had a feeling considering how badly you seem to want her that you'd want to speak with her face to face," Sasha said. "Was I right or was I right?"

"Very good decision, 121," White agreed. He reached into the pocket of his coat and handed Sasha a piece of paper. "The directions to where I'm holding your offspring. It shouldn't take you more than thirty minutes to get there, but I'll be generous and give you some extra time. However, if you're not there by ninety minutes from now, I'll kill them."

"I'll be there in well under ninety minutes," Sasha said. "You can count on that."

"Very good," White said. "I'll be seeing you soon." He got back into the car and sped off.

Sasha looked around and made sure that they weren't being watched by any of White's people before she made an all clear gesture with her right hand. The others came out from their hiding places. "Here are the directions." She held the paper out to Alec, who'd be driving the van. He memorized them in a second and handed the paper back to Sasha.

"We'll wait for two minutes after you leave until we take off," Alec said. "Good luck."

"You too," Sasha said. She walked over to her car and opened the rear passenger door and helped Becky inside. She closed that door and opened the front passenger door and Max got in. She shut the door for Max and got in behind the wheel and took off. She managed a smile as she turned to Max. "Want some music?"

Both Max and Becky laughed. "No, thanks," Max said. "So…Sasha. What are you like?"

"You mean am I anything like Rena," Sasha said. "I understand. You're curious. You must have compared Alec to Ben a million times by now."

"Yeah," Max admitted. "So…when did you realize that you felt something more than friendly for 511?"

"Well, we'd been I guess what you would call dating for a couple of years by the time that you and some others of your family blew the DNA lab, but I first started to consciously feel something more than friendly for 511 when I was about eighteen or so," Sasha said. "I don't know. One day I just happened to look across the table at breakfast at 511 like I'd done a million times before and it felt different. It took me a little longer than that to realize exactly what the difference was. After that, it was about a year before we 'saw' each other for the first time."

"You're worried about how he's going to react when he sees your daughters, aren't you?" Max said sympathetically.

"I guess I am," Sasha said. "I know deep down that he's going to love them. There isn't a person alive who wouldn't love my little girls when they meet them. Just wait until you see them in person. They are just the sweetest babies. Jade is much noisier than Julia during the day when they're awake. Julia's a quiet baby except when it's time for a bottle or when she's tired. Then she's even louder than Jade."

"Those are beautiful names," Becky said. "Where did you get them from?"

"I came up with Jade's name from her eyes," Sasha said. "She has the most beautiful eyes that are exactly the color of this jade pendant that I'd gotten for myself about two months after Manticore burned down. Her father had those eyes. That was one of the few good things that I remember about 591, but I'm getting off track. I got Julia's name from a magazine that I was reading and I thought it was a really pretty name so I gave it to her."

"I'm going to take a really wild guess and say that you weren't too thrilled with your breeding partner," Max said.

"What could make you think that?" Sasha said sarcastically. "I'm sure there are some good traits in 591 and I'm praying that it was those traits that got passed onto the girls and he was very handsome, but so were all of the X-series males. 591 was a complete and total asshole. He liked me and I think he wanted to mate with me for real, but I told him that I was only doing this because I was under orders and he wasn't my choice for a mate. Lucky for me, he was also a good soldier and he accepted that answer pretty easily and we didn't say too much to each other. Also lucky for me, I got pregnant the third or fourth night that we slept together so I didn't have to put up with him in that close of quarters for that long."

"Were you in heat when you got pregnant?" Max asked.

"Worried, are we?" Sasha teased. "If it helps, you're not pregnant. Trust me. We can smell it on each other."

"That does help and I'm not worried," Max said. "I never slept with Zack when I was in heat. I kept the hell away from him whenever we were in the same city during that wonderful time."

"But you have slept with him?" Sasha said.

"Yeah, a few times," Max said.

"We get the point and can you move on before I get sick all over myself and the back seat of this car?" Becky said.

"Sure," Sasha said. "Actually, we can get pregnant when we're not in heat. Not as easily as we can when we're in heat, but it's still possible. You should be fine as long as you use protection."

"Thanks," Max said. "I—"

"Please stop this topic of discussion," Becky begged.

"I wasn't about to—" Max teased.

"Max, I'm serious," Becky said.

"After what I've heard about you and how I've seen you behave around Manticore those months you were in Seattle total, I'd never thought I'd see you act quite like this," Sasha said.

"Do you want to see if I can beat the hell out of you blindfolded with my hands cuffed behind my back?" Becky challenged.

"Nah, not in the mood today," Sasha said. She and Max laughed for a moment, but then they were silent and stayed that way for the rest of the drive. They finally reached the building and pulled up in front of it. Sasha got out and helped Max and Becky out of the car and led them to the front door. She knocked on it and someone opened it a moment later. "Agent White is expecting me."

"X5-121," the man said. "Come inside." He let the three of them in before he went off into a back room and a moment later, White joined them.

"You made very good time," White said. "I only got here myself two minutes ago."

"Thank you," Sasha said. "My daughters?"

"Just a minute," White said. "I just want to make sure of a few things before we make the exchange." He walked around to the back of them and moved Becky's braid aside and rolled down the neck of her turtleneck and nodded before rolling the neck back up. "It's definitely 701." He looked down at Becky's cuffed hands.

"Don't worry," Sasha said. "An X5 won't be able to get out of those cuffs without the key. Trust me. They tested that back at Manticore back before the '09er brats ran. 452's got a pair of them on her as well."

"Okay," White said. He circled around so that he was standing in front of Max. "Got any smart remark for me now, 452?"

"I figured I'd save them considering how much time we're going to be spending together in the near future. Why waste them all now?" Max said.

"I never thought I'd see the day when a reasonable idea would come out of 452's mouth," White said. "I am a man of my word and I'll give you your children back now." He spoke into a walkie-talkie and a moment later, a woman came in from another room carrying Jade and Julia. She handed them to Sasha, whose face absolutely lit up when her daughters were placed in her arms.

"Oh, my beautiful little girls," she said. "You look so good! Mommy missed you both so much." She gave Jade and Julia each a kiss on their heads. "I love you, my little angels. I love you so much."

"How sweet," White said sarcastically. He drew his gun and pointed it right at Sasha. "Now, did you really think that I would just let you go?"

"White, you don't need us," Sasha said.

"You're absolutely right, 121," White said. "I don't need you…alive."

Another gun cocked behind White. "Get away from my daughters right now you bitch," Rena said coldly.

"What the hell is going on?" White demanded.

"What's going on is that my beloved twin and her precious family caught on to our deal and decided that they were going to try to get a little rescue mission going." She laughed bitterly. Her gun remained pointed steadily at Sasha, who was carefully making sure that her twins couldn't see it. "Leave it to an '09er to screw things up."

"Check her barcode," White snapped at one of his assistants. He walked up to Sasha and lifted up her hair and saw the fake barcode and his face turned red with outrage. "What's this? 120!"

"This is 121, sir," the assistant said after looking at the fake barcode on Rena's neck.

"Perfect," White said sarcastically. A sadistic smile spread across his face. "Well, it's one more transgenic to get rid of today." He laughed when he saw Max squirm around in her restraints. "Weren't you listening, 452? 120 said that an X5 couldn't break out of those cuffs and I'm guessing that she has the key to them so I think that I'm going to kill her first."

"She was right," Max admitted. "An X5 can't break out of these cuffs…"

"…but I can," Becky finished. With a grunt, she snapped the cuffs off of her wrists and took off the burlap bag and blurred to White and grabbed his gun.

White swung at Becky, who ducked it. "You're supposed to be dead, 405."

"Hey, even you should know to check for a body to make sure it's dead," Becky said. She swung at White and connected, knocking him out cold. She grabbed the key out of the pocket and quickly unlocked Max from her cuffs. White's people stood around stunned for a minute but then started to come to life. Before any shots could be fired, windows broke and doors were kicked open and the rest of the group came rushing in.

"Everybody, on the floor _now_!" Zack snapped. One brave woman, the same one who'd handed the babies back to Sasha, pulled a gun and fired at Zack. Zack barely got out of the way in time and coolly fired a shot into her kneecap. "That was your warning. The next person who tries to kill one of us won't be that lucky. Are you all deaf? I said for you to get on the floor _now_!"

"Come on, you don't want to piss this guy off. Trust me," Alec said. He quickly moved his gun over to a man who looked like he was starting to reach for a drawer. "Whoops, not quick enough. If you really want to be ballsy and open the drawer and play show and tell, I could always play target practice. I'm a little bit more reasonable than my friend here, but not by that much."

"Stay on the ground right now," Zack ordered. He and Alec looked out of the corner of their eyes as the others got Sasha and her children out of there and to her car. He heard the sound of an engine starting and a car speeding away. "Who went with Sasha?"

"Becky. She's got White's gun on her," Max said. "We should get going before our favorite bad guy here decides to wake up."

"Right," Zack said. He made a gesture and the group started to back out of there. Once Zack had reached the door, he ran for the van and got inside and they zoomed off. "Tell me when we're being followed."

"Got it," Wayne, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, said.

"I gave Becky a headset," Krit said. "She'll be able to let us know if someone tries to ambush her and Sasha."

"Good," Zack said. He grabbed a headset and put it on. "Becky, how does it look up there?"

"All clear so far," Becky said.

"I can't see any problems from up ahead," Alec said. "Wait…I think we might be getting some company. I'm hearing a car coming up on us hot. Wayne, can you get a better look for me?"

"Sure," Wayne said. He rolled down his window and leaned out the window for a moment and zoomed in before he pulled himself back in. "Black sedan coming up on us. They should catch up to us in about thirty seconds or less at our current rate. Can you put any more speed on this thing?"

"The van's top speed is ninety and we're already doing that," Alec said. "Damnit."

"They're gonna catch us soon…Wayne can you climb up onto the roof?" Max asked.

Wayne grinned. "Yeah, I can."

"I'm going to have to be swerving while you're up there taking shots," Alec reminded him. "Have you done anything like this before?"

"No," Wayne admitted.

"Let me," Jeff said. "I have." He waited for Wayne to unbuckle his seat belt and move to the back of the van before he moved to Wayne's seat and rolled down the window and started to back himself out of it. He grabbed the edge of the van's roof and pulled himself out the rest of the way and swung himself onto the roof. He banged on the roof a few times to let Alec know that he was in position and ducked as they started to fire on him from the other car. He managed to keep his balance as Alec swerved the van to make him a harder target and drew his gun and fired a shot and hit the left front tire of the sedan dead on. It blew out and the driver lost control and spun and rolled the car. Jeff put his gun away and climbed back inside of the van. "Situation neutralized. We don't have to worry about those assholes. I don't know how many survived that accident, but right now the important thing is that they're not chasing and trying to kill us."

"Was White in the sedan that was chasing us?" Zack asked.

"No," Jeff said. "There were two men in the front counting the driver and another two men in the backseat but neither of them was White."

"Good work," Alec said.

Jeff grinned. "Thanks."

"You have to help me learn that trick," Wayne said.

"It's easy to learn," Jeff said. "You probably could have pulled it off now if you really wanted to."

"Great, yet another insane stunt to add to what's probably a huge repertoire by now," Zack grumbled.

"What he's done since we bailed in '09 can't be worse that going a hundred plus miles an hour in a snowstorm on a motorcycle through a town and up a windy mountain road while being chased with idiots that had shotguns and weren't afraid to use them and then throwing yourself off of said motorcycle onto the side of the road and letting the bike plunge 200 feet or so," Rena said.

"What!" Zack said.

"I didn't have a choice," Rena said. "It was either that or get ripped to shreds by those idiots who happened to see the news report that exposed our existence and then by a fluke see my barcode and for the record, I was in town to get that barcode removed so shut the hell up Zack."

Zack glared at her and then looked down at the floor of the van for a moment before he sighed and looked back up at his sister. "You're alive. That's what matters. I know that you wouldn't have done anything that you didn't have to do."

"Thanks," Rena said. She smiled.

Max sat down next to Zack and took his hand. "It's still not easy dealing with us, is it?"

"No," Zack admitted. "Some things never change." He kissed Max on the lips and stretched. "Let's head back to Seattle. I'm getting tired."

"You're getting old," Krit teased.

"It's one in the morning, Krit," Zack said.

"He's right. The night's still young for me." She grinned wickedly and whispered something in Zack's ear. Krit was sitting close enough to barely hear it and he paled. "Maxie, can you wait until I'm completely out of earshot before you tell Zack all the dirty things that you want to do with him when we get back into the city?"

"What is it with you and Becky?" Max said. "I mention that I slept with Zack to Sasha on the way over here and I know Becky's face had to have been green under the burlap sack and you overhear me, you little perv, and you're two seconds from hurling."

"As the youngest person in this van, I'm telling all of you to grow up," Jeff said.

Max shook her head as most of the others laughed and leaned against Zack. "I'm glad this rescue mission went better than the last one we pulled did."

"Me too," Zack said. "Me too."

TBC


	78. Chapter 73

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I hope that you ladies had as good a time as I did at the Valentine's Day bash last night," Sketchy said to Max and Becky as he passed them as he entered Jam Pony about two weeks later.

"I guess you got laid last night after all," Max remarked.

"Yes, I did get laid, but I had a very good time at the party before that," Sketchy said.

"It wasn't bad," Becky said. "I almost decked the hell out of this one sleazeball who snuck up behind me and tried to French with me, but it was fine other than that."

"Hey!" Wayne said. "I said that I was sorry. I thought you were that blonde that I was trying to hook up with all that night. Was it my fault that the two of you were wearing close to the same outfit?"

Becky rolled her eyes. "Save it."

"You know, you need to curb that tendency of yours," Max teased.

"Look who's talking," Becky protested. "Was it my imagination, or when we went on that run together last week did you grab the scumbag who signed for the package in his own 'package' and twisted and threatened to rip it off if he kept on mentally undressing you?"

"Okay," Max admitted. "I did that." She looked around. "Speaking of which, where's Normal's pride and joy? He's never late."

"Beats the hell out of me," Jeff said. "I called his cell phone, but he'd turned it off so I left a message on his voicemail. He's not in trouble. He would have let us known."

"He didn't show up at Crash last night," Sketchy said.

"Big deal," Original Cindy said. "I see a few people here who weren't at the party over at Crash last night."

"She's right," Becky said. Her cell phone rang. She checked the number and flipped it open and answered it. "Hey." She briefly turned back to the others. "Give me a sec. It's an important call." She walked away so that she was out of earshot of Sketchy and Original Cindy.

"I've got to hit the can," Sketchy said. He headed for the bathroom.

Max looked over Wayne. "It's a good thing that there were so many other people at Crash that night, otherwise your eye would be swollen shut. Did you seriously mistake Becky for that bimbo that you were chasing after all that night? If not, then you were playing with fire. If you thought what Zack did to you after you and Krit and Zane blindfolded him and tried to tie his hands behind his back while he was sleeping that one time back at Manticore was bad, she's got the same temper that he does and she's stronger. Do the math."

"I really did mistake Becky for the woman," Wayne said. "They were wearing the same jeans and jacket and their hair was pretty close. I'm not that dumb, Max. I wouldn't go after Becky. She's hot as hell, but it would be like kissing my sister. You know what I mean."

"Good," Jeff said.

"Relax, Jeff, I just said that I wasn't interested in your girl," Wayne said. "Dude, why haven't you tried anything yet?"

"Um, did you drink so much that it resulted in sporadic memory loss?" Jeff said. "I don't want to have her swing at me or come at me with a gun. Well, she wouldn't want to hurt me that badly so she'd probably wouldn't use the gun unless it was a tranquilizer gun."

"Ease up on Jeff," Max said. "He is one of the most patient people I've ever met and he can and will talk with Becky about this when he feels that the time is right for both of them."

"Thank you, Max," Jeff said.

"That was Kyle," Becky said. "He and Kevin just got into Seattle and they're heading over to Terminal City and they're going to camp out there. Xavier should get here tomorrow morning and Felicia should be getting in a few hours after him." She frowned. "I probably should have gone out and brought them here myself."

"Relax, Becky," Max said. "If you had done that, the whole process would have taken at least a week-and-a-half instead of a few days. They're fine."

"You're right," Becky said. She tried to smile. "Hey, Jeff, are you going to bring the brothers and sisters that you have contact with into Seattle?"

"Took care of that last night before I went to bed," Jeff said. "Riley, Ralph, Vance, Christian, Wes, and Dustin are all on their way over here."

"How many does that make it for you that you still need to get in touch with?" Wayne asked.

"I've got another seven sibs that I haven't seen since the fire that I know made it out," Jeff said. His cell phone rang then and he looked at the number and raised an eyebrow. "Look who decided to let us know he's still alive." He answered it. "Yeah, Alec, what is it?" He grinned. "You're kidding! That's great! Yeah, I'll tell them and I'll give him the phone. Just a sec." He walked over to Normal and handed him the phone before he shouted to everybody "It's a boy!"

Max squealed in joy. "I've got another nephew!"

"Way to go, Alec!" Sketchy said.

"What else did Alec say? How's Brin? Are she and the baby doing okay?" Wayne asked.

"Yeah, he said that they're both doing fine," Jeff said. "He said that his son was born about half an hour ago and he's perfectly healthy." He lowered his voice so that only Max and Becky and Wayne could hear him. "And he doesn't have a barcode."

"That's great," Becky said. "What's the little guy's name?"

"Alec said that he and Brin finally agreed on the name Anthony," Jeff said. "Though Alec wants to call him Tony and Brin is insisting on calling him Anthony." He laughed. "That should be good."

"When can we go see them?" Max asked eagerly.

"Alec said that Maggie told him that Brin and the baby can have visitors tonight if they feel up to it," Jeff said.

"I can't wait to see them," Max said.

"Okay, people, settle down," Normal said. He reached out from underneath the counter and set a cigar box down on it and held Jeff's cell phone back out to him. "If you're old enough to use these, you can pick one up but absolutely no smoking on the premises. Got that? Now bip, bip, bip! Let's get back to work."

"I think the man is finally softening a little," Original Cindy commented.

"Maybe," Max agreed. She smiled. "Come on. The sooner that we deliver some packages for Normal, the sooner I can get out of here and see my new baby nephew."

TBC


	79. Chapter 74

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Hey, thanks for coming over," Jeff said to Becky as he let her into his apartment later that night.

"No problem," Becky said. "I was kind of bored. There was nothing good on TV and I didn't feel like going out to Crash tonight since I was there last night for the Valentine's Day party and Max and the others are over at Brin and Maggie's place going crazy over little Anthony."

"When are you going to see him?" Jeff asked.

"Probably tomorrow," Becky said.

"Why aren't you out helping your brothers get settled into Terminal City?" Jeff asked.

"I was there earlier," Becky said. "Kevin and Kyle are gonna share an apartment there with this one guy from Unit 2 from back in Wyoming and an X6 from New York. It's a kind of big apartment, but it's falling apart. No real surprise considering it's in the middle of TC. Oh well. Trying to fix the plumbing in the bathroom should give the four of them something to do."

"It should, especially if it was anything like this apartment that I had to stay in when I went on my only solo mission before Manticore burned," Jeff said. "I got back from it about a week before you went out on your solo. They sent me over to Bulgaria to spy on some diplomats there, both American and foreign. It was something about possible weapons smuggling and biological weapon plans being stolen and sold. My cover was that I was a struggling writer straight out of school so needless to say, I wasn't supposed to have any money and the apartment that I was in was an almost complete dump. I was in Sofia for about a month or so and for at least the first half of that time, when I wasn't out gathering information like I was ordered to do, I was trying to fix the plumbing and just about everything else in the apartment." He laughed. "It was enough to make me miss my cell back at Manticore."

"They actually made your cover be a writer?" Becky said. "They definitely got the struggling part right, though. You can barely compose a decent-sounding greeting card, much less a story."

"Yeah, and try writing one in Bulgarian," Jeff said. "If you're as creative writing-ly challenged as I am, whether you're a transgenic or not, it's not easy or fun."

"It could have been worse," Becky said. "I was over in some middle-of-nowhere town in Siberia and I was freezing my ass off every single night. Try doing espionage when you have to bundle up like mad. I'd never thought I'd find a place that was even colder and snowed worse than Gillette in winter but I did. I was so happy that I got to fly back to Seattle every few weeks. If I didn't, that weather would have driven me nuts."

"It was nice having you with my unit when you were based out of Seattle for those two missions," Jeff said.

"I think 224 would have disagreed," Becky said. "I'm glad that asshole wasn't in your unit, but man did he have a problem with me."

"He was threatened by you," Jeff said. "No offense or anything, but it was nice to have him be primarily threatened by someone else." He sighed. "He never deliberately tried to hurt me or sabotage me in anyway, but whenever our units would spar against each other or run some exercise against each other, he'd usually single me out if he got the opportunity or he'd fight a little too hard. It's not that I couldn't take it, far from it. It's just that 224 had to have been the most territorial and had the biggest ego of anybody that I'd known. He was always paranoid that I'd take his place as the Seattle X6 squad leader. When they ran those trials almost two years ago, he and I came out dead even. The only reason that he got selected as C.O. instead of me was the fact that he was a month older than I am."

"I got his hackles up, that's for sure," Becky said. "I remember the first time I met him. I was at Seattle for about two days before Riley and I went out on our mission and he tried to hit on me."

"You left him in one piece?" Jeff said, pretending to be shocked.

Becky smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "We were in Manticore, you moron. I couldn't just do ballistic on him, though I have the distinct feeling now that Renfro would have gotten some kind of enjoyment from knowing that I would have ruined any kind of enjoyment that 224 would have gotten for a long time and she would have gone easy on me." She shrugged. "He actually wasn't nasty to me after I turned him down. He just said okay and went off. I guess he figured that he'd get another chance. Then your unit and his unit sparred against each other and I beat him. It was close, but I still beat him and from then on it was asshole all the way." She walked into his kitchen. "What have you got to eat around here?"

Jeff followed her. "Not too much. I need to do some grocery shopping or just live off of take out for awhile."

"Not too much?" Becky said as she shut the door of Jeff's refridgerator. "Jeff, all you've got in the fridge is a box of baking powder and a mostly empty carton of eggs that are a week past their expiration date."

"Do you wanna go out then?" Jeff asked.

"Sure," Becky said. "That sounds great."

"Actually," Jeff said. He cleared his throat. "How about we go out as in on a date?"

Becky was quiet for a few moments. "A date? As in a boyfriend/girlfriend date?"

"Yeah," Jeff said. "Becky, I…I want to go out with you. I want to date you, I…I'm in love with you. I don't know if you feel the same way or not, but…I hope you do, but…"

"I do," Becky said quietly. _Max was right. I do feel that way about Jeff. Have I always felt that way? When did I start feeling that way?_ "I do feel the same way about you. When I started feeling the same way, whether when it was when we first met back in Seattle at the end of August of '18 or when it was when we met back up again at Crash before I went with Zack to check up on Kyle and Xavier and Jondy, I really don't know but…I love you."

"I love you, too," Jeff said. He leaned forward and kissed Becky. When they parted, he grinned at her. "Man, I…"

"What?" Becky asked.

"Can't believe this is real," Jeff said. "I can't believe that you actually feel the same way that I do. I can't believe that such a wonderful woman would want to date me at all, much less be in love with me."

"For someone who normally can't write poetry or stories or do anything creative like that for shit, you definitely have a way with words," Becky teased.

"Only for you," Jeff said. His grin only got wider. "Come on, let's go get some food."

"I'm with you," Becky said. They grabbed their jackets and left the apartment.

TBC


	80. Chapter 75

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I had the day off," Stephen said to White as they sat down at a table at an upscale restaurant in Seattle not far from Logan's old penthouse. "How about you?"

"I don't have to be back at work until two," White said. He ordered a drink each for him and Stephen and waited for the waiter to leave before resuming the conversation. "This place looks nice."

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites," Stephen said. "I try to eat here at least once a month. So, how are things in your world?"

"Personally, very good," White said. He grinned. "Wendy's pregnant again."

"Congratulations," Stephen said. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Not yet," White said. "We'll be able to know in a month and Wendy and I both want to know if it's a boy or a girl. I'm hoping for a boy and Wendy wants a girl. Typical, but that's how it is. Speaking of which, how's your daughter?"

"Carrie's fine," Stephen said. "She took Belinda's death very well. She's a great kid. I can say that both as her father and a fellow Familiar."

"It's too bad you had to kill Belinda," White said.

"Yeah, I know," Stephen said. He shrugged. "We thought since Carrie turned out so well that when the Conclave told me that the time was right for us to start on baby number two, that baby would be fine as well. But the poor kid was stillborn, we still have no idea why, so the Conclave decided that Belinda was of no further use to us after all so I killed her. I'll tell Carrie exactly how her mother died in a few years after she's been in the school for at least a few months. I've got no worries about how she'll take it then. I've got complete faith in her." He saw the look on White's face and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. Your father was nothing more than a fluke. He was the exception that proved the rule. Every family has to have one black sheep, even the Familiars."

"Thanks, Stephen," White said gratefully.

"That's what friends are for," Stephen said. "If you need any advice, just give me a call."

"I might just do that," White said. "What else is going on with you?"

"This and that," Stephen said. "I've been mostly busy with other business that I've been carrying out at the request of the Conclave. This and that, you know how it goes. Between that, my day job, and being a single parent to a three-year-old, I've barely had any free time lately. Speaking of business, how have things been going with your line of work? How has the hunt for the freaks been going lately?"

"Things picked up a little bit after we exposed their existence, but that didn't last very long," White said. "It was a small increase, but it only lasted for about a week. These transgenics are definitely well trained. I believed that we would be catching more of the X-series females because a good chunk of them, most of the X3, X4, and X5 females, had been placed in Manticore's breeding program that was instituted shortly after the destruction of the DNA lab and had given or were about to give birth to their foul offspring, but out of all of those females and newborns, I only caught two mothers, both X3s, and their babies and I came close on an X5 and her twin spawn." He sighed regretfully. "The X5 could have been potentially a big help because she was the twin of a unit mate of 452's, but instead of capturing and bringing in 452, I'm guessing she was convinced by somebody, I'm guessing X5-494 since it turned out that he was that X5's commanding officer, to let 452 help her and they mounted a successful rescue mission." His expression got angrier. "On top of that, the X6 that I believed that I had chased to its death back in August turned out to be still alive. I don't know how. She must have fallen onto or into something when she missed the other roof." He laughed bitterly. "Needless to say, we don't have 452 in our possession yet."

"Even these freaks must have some luck," Stephen said. "Don't worry, it'll run out sometime."

White's cell phone rang. "Just a moment," he said. He looked at the number, glanced at Stephen, and then answered the phone. "Fenos'tol."

"Fenos'tol," the woman's voice on the other end said. "Are you with anybody?"

"Only Brother Garrison," White said. "What is going on?"

"Something that I believe is well within the capabilities of the two of you," the woman replied. "The Conclave has decided that it is time to make a serious move against the transgenics. The exposure of their existence last month was one major step. It is now time to make another one."

White nodded. "I agree. Did the Conclave want anything specific to be done or is this entirely in my hands and the hands of those that I choose to help me in this endeavor?"

"It's entirely your call," the woman said. "Call me back when you and Brother Garrison have come up with a plan. Fenos'tol."

"Fenos'tol," White replied. He disconnected and put his cell phone back in his pocket and turned back to Stephen. "It seems as if we have some business to discuss. The Conclave wants to make another serious move against the transgenics. They didn't say that there was something specific that they wanted done. They left that in our hands."

"I see," Stephen said. "Well then, I guess all we need to do now is order some lunch and put our heads together."

"Truer words have never been spoken," White agreed as he motioned for the waiter.

TBC


	81. Chapter 76a

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** This is it! The beginning of the end of this fic. This will be kind of an AU version of "Freak Nation," so possibly spoiler-ish stuff for that episode, though I don't think there's going to be much of it.

"So, what's the plan for later tonight?" Wayne asked everybody. "Who's in for Crash or should we go out for pizza?"

"No can do," Alec said. "I'm picking up Tony from Brin tonight so Brin can get some sleep."

"I'm good either way," Becky said, shrugging. "You should probably wait until Max gets back from her run before you ask." She glanced over towards the entrance and grinned. "Speaking of which, look who showed up."

"Isn't that the guy Sam or whatever his name is who took Herbal's job last year or whenever it was?" Sketchy said suspiciously. "Jerk takes his job and then blows it off."

Becky glared at him. "He happens to be my older brother and he had a very good reason for leaving so quickly. Ask Wayne if you want to know why. Excuse me." She paused and turned back around and grinned wickedly. "Do you want me to tell him how you tried to look down my shirt at least once a day for the first two weeks I was working here?"

Sketchy got a little pale. "Um…no. I think I'll just talk with Wayne over here."

"You're smarter than people give you credit for," Becky said. She turned around and walked over to where Zack was talking with Normal.

"…is on a hot run right now, but I told you before, you have no right to come back in here after leaving me in the lurch like you did," Normal said angrily. "Now, get out Sam, if that's even your real name. Reprobates like you…"

"Actually, it isn't my real name," Zack said. "It's Zack, but that's another story. I also wanted to apologize for that, sir. I didn't have time the last time that I was here to apologize for it. My little sister had been in a car accident and my parents told me that it didn't look like she was going to survive. I didn't have time to call you. I'm sorry."

"Sure," Normal said skeptically. "I'm guessing that the next part of your story is that your supposed sister lived?"

"I did," Becky said. "I was in a coma for a week, but I lived. Thanks for asking."

Normal did a double take. "You're his sister, Rebecca?"

"For the millionth time, call me Becky," Becky said. "Yeah, you didn't think that the fact that we have the same last name and that we look a whole bunch alike could mean that we were brother and sister? That whole Sam thing was an inside joke between me and him. Don't ask 'cause it's a complicated story." She sighed. "Before you even ask, I was out running some errands for my mom after school and I was on my way home and I was driving down the road minding my own business when I see this moron, whom I later found out was drunk, swerving around in the road and then right towards me. I try to swerve out of the way but I lost control of the car." She shivered. "The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital a week later and Zack and Mom are sitting next to my bed. Apparently I'd run off the road and hit a tree head-on. The doctors said I nearly didn't make it and I definitely wouldn't have made it if I hadn't been wearing a seatbelt."

"I'm sorry," Normal said.

"Yeah, near-death experiences suck," Becky agreed. She bit her lip as the memory of her real near-death experience came to mind.

"I'm sorry," Normal said to Zack. "You can have your old job back if you want. I have an opening."

Zack shook his head. "I have another job right now, but I appreciate the offer, sir."

"If you change your mind, let me know," Normal said. "It'd be nice to have two Golden Boys here."

"Are you going to steal my thunder?" Alec joked.

"No," Zack said. He shrugged.

"Anyway, I've got a hot run to 1009 Baker Street," Normal said. "It's a two person run. Re—Becky, do you want to take it?"

"Yeah, no problem," Becky said.

"Anybody else?" Normal asked.

"I'll go," Jeff said.

"Good," Normal said. He handed the packages to Becky and Jeff.

"I'll walk you guys out," Zack said.

Becky rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl. I don't need a chaperone when I'm with my boyfriend, even when it's only work and Normal, don't have a heart attack, Jeff and I won't stop while we're out to rent a room." She and Jeff and Zack left Jam Pony. Becky and Jeff got on their bicycles and rode a little more slowly so that Zack, who was on foot, could keep up with them.

"Did Sketchy really try to look down your shirt when you first started to work here?" Zack said.

"Yeah, but it's just Sketchy," Becky said. "He's harmless and he gave up on it. You remember the guy. It took him a little bit longer to stop trying to pick me up." She shrugged. "Both Max and I have mentioned that I have an overly protective older brother before and know that Sketchy can put a face to the name, he won't even try to pick me up anymore. Not that he has since Jeff and I started dating, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, he'd pretty much stopped trying to pick her up by the time I started to work at Jam Pony," Jeff said. He looked thoughtful. "1009 Baker Street…I think that's a grocery store. It's a kind of run-down little place. They sell decent decent snack food, though. Do you want to get some chips while we're there, Becky?"

"If we get chips while we're there, we're gonna have to get some for everybody else," Becky pointed out. "If we only get some for ourselves, Wayne and Alec and going to either smell them on our breath if we eat them right after we pay for them or see them if we just take it back with us and try to shove them in our lockers without anybody seeing."

"Good point," Jeff said. "I don't think I have that much cash on me right now."

"I've got it," Becky said.

The three of them were mostly quiet until the finally got to the address. Becky and Jeff got off of their bicycles and Zack waited for them while they chained them up to a nearby lamppost. They started to walk into the store when they suddenly froze and looked around. "See or hear anything?" Zack asked quietly.

"No," Becky said. "Either whoever might be following us knows how to keep tabs on an X-series or nobody's following us and we're being very paranoid. Either way, can you blame us?"

"Let's stay alert," Zack said.

Jeff managed a smirk. "Gee, Zack, does that mean that you'll be escorting us all the way back to Jam Pony too?"

Becky smacked him on the shoulder and laughed a little. "That was supposed to be my line, you idiot."

"I know," Jeff said. He grinned.

Zack rolled his eyes. "And you wonder why you need to be baby sat…"

"Ha ha ha," Becky said. The three of them went inside the store and up to a counter. "Hi, Jam Pony messengers. We have a delivery for a…" She checked the address on her package. "…Mr. Howard at this address. We need a signature for this package."

"Mr. Howard won't be in until this afternoon, but I can take the package for him," the man behind the counter said.

"Great," Becky said. She and Jeff handed the packages to him and the man signed the clipboard that Becky held out. "Thanks for using Jam Pony." She put the clipboard away in her backpack and she, Jeff, and Zack turned and walked over to an aisle. "So, I like regular barbeque chips and so does Max, you and Alec like salt and vinegar, Original Cindy likes regular but rippled, Wayne likes sour cream and chives, and Sketchy likes cheddar but they're out so should we get him jalapeno barbeque?"

"It'd be worth it just to see the look on his face when he tries to eat one of them," Jeff agreed.

"You read my mind," Becky said. She turned and gave Jeff a quick kiss on the lips, flipped Zack off and smirked when she saw the look on his face, and started to reach for the bags of chips when the sound of the door slamming open made the three of them jump and turn around.

"Okay, nobody move!" an angry male voice shouted. "Everybody's going to get right here in the middle and sit down. Now! We will not hesitate to shoot if you don't cooperate."

Zack and Becky and Jeff looked at each other as they slowly walked over to the spot that the man had said. _This isn't good…_

TBC


	82. Chapter 76b

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Hey," Max said as she re-entered Jam Pony.

"Hey, Max," Alec said. "You just missed your lover boy."

"Zack was here?" Max said. "Is he coming back?"

"Probably," Wayne said. "Becky and Jeff went out on a run and Zack went along for the ride."

"Normal didn't burst a vessel when Zack came in?" Max said.

"Almost," Wayne said. "Until Zack and Becky told him about Becky's 'accident' being the reason that Zack left so suddenly."

Max nodded and walked over to where Original Cindy was standing. "Hey, boo. You look like you're in a pretty decent mood."

"I am," Original Cindy said. She smirked. "Went out for a run and got a possible new lickety-boo. Fine ass girl who works over at some dentist's office on the other side of town. We've got a date for tomorrow night."

"Good for you," Max said.

"So, Maxie and Cindy, what are you up for doing tonight?" Wayne asked. "Crash, pizza, or neither? Alec's out because he's got Tony for the night and I'm pretty sure that Sketchy will be in for either one. How about the two of you?"

"I'm up for some pizza," Original Cindy said. "As long as you guys are going to go to a decent place. If you ain't, then I'll be up for Crash."

"Maybe," Max said.

"Are you gonna try to drag big bro along with you?" Wayne asked. He smirked. "That'd be a sight to see. Zack hanging out with people that aren't his family or his girlfriend."

"How about you ask him?" Max said sweetly. "If the proposition was coming from you, you wouldn't have a chance of him refusing it."

"Bite me," Wayne said.

"Nah, go pick up another bimbo and ask her," Max said.

"Very funny," Wayne said. "Just because I'm not in a steady relationship with somebody doesn't mean that I have to be a complete wallflower. I'm exploring my options. Is it my fault that there are so many beautiful options in Seattle?"

"Just when Alec was starting to grow up a little, we get this guy," Original Cindy remarked.

"Whatever," Wayne said. "That reminds me, I need to return that book to Maggie that she swiped from her boss' office."

"What is it with you and her and you two actually liking medicine?" Max said. "You guys obviously both tested well for that area way back when but you still actually keep up on it in your spare time. That's sick."

"Hey, just because you didn't like field med class doesn't mean that you can rag on me," Wayne teased. "Why do you think so many doctors decide to go into medicine in the first place?"

"Um…the money?" Max said sarcastically.

"Besides, who was it that I went with last week to get some new telecomm devices from the black market and who wouldn't stop blabbing about how this one does that and how it would help her…" Wayne continued.

"Wayne, shut up," Max said.

"Sibling rivalry is just a beautiful thing," Alec said. "Don't you think so, Cindy?"

"There are few things that bring tears to my eyes and this is one of them," Original Cindy deadpanned. "You two have issues."

"You think this is bad?" Max said. "You should see Syl and Rena go at it sometime. They're close and they get along fine most of the time, but they can get a rise out of each other pretty quickly. It's usually fun to watch, though, at least until we possibly have to separate them."

"Who do you think topped the biggest sibling rivalry thing in our family?" Wayne asked. "Syl and Rena, Ben and Zack, or Jace and Jondy?"

"Tough call," Max said. "What about your family, Alec?"

Alec shook his head. "I wouldn't classify my unit as a family, unless we're including dysfunctional ones. It's a long story."

"So spill," Original Cindy said. "It sounds—"

"Oh, man, what could be so special that they have to cut into the music video?" another messenger whined.

"…thanks, Paula," a news reporter said. "I'm here live in downtown Seattle where apparently a hostage situation has just taken place. Approximately ten minutes ago, several armed men broke into this grocery store on the first floor of the building located at 1009 Baker Street and are holding people hostage. Hold on a second…we've just gotten some information in on the hostages. There appears to be a total of ten hostages being held. The assistant manager, the cashier, two other employees, an elderly woman, an elderly man, a young man in his early-to-mid twenties, a young man and young woman both in their late teens, and a little boy no older than eight or nine years old. We…"

Max heard Normal actually swear in the background and she turned to Wayne to ask what was going on. Wayne's face had gone almost white and he turned to Max and gave the slightest nod and they both bolted out of there. Alec followed them, barely pausing to yell to Normal that he wanted to make sure that they didn't do anything stupid.

"Shit, this isn't happening," Max said angrily. "Of all the dumb fucking luck…"

"Calm down," Alec said. "Being a bitch isn't going to help Zack and Becky and Jeff."

Max sighed. "You're actually the voice of reason. Hey Wayne, do you see pigs or monkeys flying overhead?" She took a deep breath. "You're right. Get back to your apartments, get your motorcycles, and meet me at Terminal City. I've got some calls to make."

"Who?" Alec asked.

"People who'll help," Max said. She ran off towards her apartment and whipped out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end said.

"Kyle, it's Max," Max said.

"Hey," Kyle said. He sounded surprised. "What's up?"

"We've got a situation," she said. "Have you been watching the TV?"

"Yeah, they were just…" Kyle's voice trailed off and he swore when he figured out what was going on. "What do you need me to do?"

"Get the rest of your sibs in T.C. together and meet me there," Max said. "I'll be there as soon as I reach my other sibs."

"Got it," Kyle said. "I'll reach Maggie since she's at work right now and Brin since she relocated here. I'll also find Riley and let her know and she'll get the rest of her and Jeff's family that's present together."

"Great," Max said. "I'll see you in T.C. in a few." She disconnected and dialed another number. "Krit? It's Max…"

TBC


	83. Chapter 76c

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"This is just great," Becky muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Jeff and Zack to hear. "We just had to get stuck in this mess. Is it too much to ask to have a normal day at work, no pun intended?" She shivered and edged closer to Zack, pretending to be scared.

"I know," Jeff said. He put his hand on Becky's shoulder.

"Everybody is going to stay here nice and quiet until we speak to somebody, is that clear?" the guy who'd barged into the store first said.

"What is it that you want?" the assistant manager asked. "Do you want money? I'll go empty the cash register and the safe in the back for you if that's all that you want. Just please leave me and my employees and my customers alone. We didn't do anything."

"We want to make a statement," the leader said. "We want to be taken seriously. Nobody took us seriously when we blew that bank last month. They didn't even blame us at all. They thought that it was some group of foreign terrorists. Those bastards get the credit for everything. Not this time. Everybody's going to know that me and my men are not to be dealt with lightly."

Zack stood up and walked towards the man. "This isn't the way to prove yourself to everybody. Taking innocent people hostages isn't the answer."

The leader just aimed his automatic rifle right at Zack's chest. "Listen, James Dean, why don't you go back to the jock and the cheerleader princess over there and sit down and shut your mouth like a good little boy. I'm not in the mood to kill people…yet."

Zack stared him down before discreetly looking around the room and weighing his options. _I can easily disarm him and take him down at this range and it wouldn't be a problem for Becky and Jeff and then me to disarm and disable the other five men._ His eyes drifted over to the other hostages and he frowned. _They wouldn't know what to do and it's too cramped in here to be able to safely take these guys out without risking civilian casualties. In the time that it'll take Becky and Jeff and I to take out one man each, as short as that time may be, it'll still be enough for at least one of the remaining three men to get a shot off at one of the other hostages. Damn._ He slowly backed away from the leader of the group and sat back down next to Becky. "It's not going to work. There's too big of a risk to the other hostages."

"I know," Becky said. "We're going to have to play their game for at least a little while longer."

"Let's find out what the rules are," Jeff murmured. He stood up, apparently nervous. "Um…excuse me? Can I please use the bathroom?"

"Where's the bathroom?" the leader asked.

"Through that door over there, then down the hall, it's the door at the end of the hall," the assistant manager said.

The leader nodded. "Grant, Davis, Martel, escort the hostage to the bathroom." He gestured to the three most heavily armed men and they moved to surround Jeff.

Jeff blinked and sat back down. "On second thought, I don't have to go that badly."

"Good little boy," the leader said. "Try not to piss in your pants, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll do my best," Jeff said. He sat back down and turned to Zack and Becky, his expression serious. "Why the hell would they have three men escorting me to the bathroom, much less three men armed with automatic rifles, pistols, and at least one semi? They wouldn't."

"Maybe it's just a scare tactic to get you to stay where you are," Becky offered. "Maybe the guy isn't stupid and he's anticipating at least one of the hostages to try to make a run for it and get the hell out of here. If they've got at least half of a brain, that possibility would have crossed their minds and they would have planned ahead."

"It better not be because of Option B," Zack said grimly. "You guys do have your barcodes lasered off, right? Mine was taken care of last week before I left Seattle."

"I'm fine," Jeff said. "Becky?"

"I should be fine," Becky said. "It should be returning any day now. I checked this morning before I went to work and it still wasn't there. I'm wearing the turtleneck just in case, though." She paused as she tried to listen to what was going on outside. "More police cars have shown up…I hear a few more still on their way…someone's getting out…oh good, they actually sent a hostage negotiator within an hour of this bullshit going down."

"Your tax dollars at work," Jeff mumbled sarcastically. "I hear about one military humvee outside, but Seattle's still under martial law so that's not surprising. They're making no move to intervene. They're probably just here for crowd control."

"There's a big crowd forming," Zack agreed. "I'm counting about fifty or so people gathered on this side of the street and across the street. The police must have blocked off the street to civilian vehicular traffic but that hasn't stopped pedestrians at all." He sighed. "I don't hear Max or any body in the crowd yet."

"They'll be coming for us," Becky said. "That's a given. The only question is when."

"True," Zack said. "This is a tricky game to play. They all know that."

"And you can't even take a bathroom break," Jeff quipped. Becky snickered a little and even Zack barely smiled. They settled down and watched and waited.

TBC


	84. Chapter 76d

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** In case you don't know who's who in Jeff's family (the ones who are in T.C.), Riley is 252, Ralph (who earlier I decided to make a part of Jeff's family) is 334, Vance is 437, Dustin is 583, Wes is 312, and Christian is 111.

Max paced back and forth in the unofficial control room/headquarters in Terminal City. "Damnit, damnit, when are they going to call?"

"They'll call when they have the surveillance and comm van patched in," Krit said. "Don't worry, Maxie. This will go fine."

"I'm not used to have to pull off a rescue on this kind of a scale," Max admitted.

"That's why you have us," Kyle said. "We'll pull them out of there."

"Right," Max said. Her cell phone rang and she pulled it out and hit speakerphone. "Talk to me."

"We're up and running," Xavier said. "Felicia and Vance and I are patched into every hoverdrone and security cam within a mile of the store. We're sending a feed to you guys right now."

"I'm picking it up," Dix said. "Got it."

"Good work," Kyle said. "This is from directly across the street from the store, right?"

"Right, it's a hoverdrone feed," Xavier said. "I can pan around a bit and change the angle." They watched as the camera view began to zoom in and the angle lower. "There's a heck of a crowd gathering. Yeah, there's a surprise—"

"Wait," Max said suddenly. "Stop at that angle and zoom in."

"Sure," Xavier said. The view zoomed in a little bit farther. "What is it?"

"That guy…" Max trailed off. She looked at it for a moment later and then started swearing loudly. "Son-of-a-bitch! I knew it! I fucking knew it!"

"What is it?" Syl asked.

"I told you about that run-in with White that Zack and I had, right?" Max said. "That's White's freaky buddy. This was a set-up. It's a big set-up for us to go in and grab them and get nailed."

"…and even if we don't get nailed, there's plenty of collateral that White could nail us for," Alec finished. "Plus it's in public so he could seriously force our hand and expose us as transgenics if we try something fancy and get caught."

"Looks like the bastard's starting to grow a brain," Sasha agreed.

"Damnit," Max said. "Xavier, pan around some more. I want to see if White's in the area or if his cult buddy appears to be running the show for the time being. Also, can one of you guys get audio?"

"I'm working on the audio," Felicia said. "Just a…got it. I'm sending you an audio file taken from a security cam that's located near this guy. Do you guys have it?"

"I do now," Luke said. He hit a button on his keyboard and they listened in on it.

"…yeah, it is scary when it happens," Stephen said. They heard a cell phone ring in the background. "Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to take a call." He answered his phone. "Fenos'tol."

"Fenos'tol," White said. "How are things shaping up so far?"

"Things have gotten off to a great start, buddy," Stephen said. "Our man led his team in and they took the hostages, including 599, 405, and 941. None of the three of them has made a move to save themselves or the hostages yet. They're playing it cool so far."

"The team doesn't have a clue exactly why they're there and what they're doing?" White asked.

"Not a clue," Stephen assured him. "Our guy is the only person aware of the true plan. Once we have him let it slip that there's transgenics being held with the other hostages, we sit back and watch the show. Have I mentioned that these guys aren't too fond of the freaks?"

White laughed. "I've always liked your sense of humor, Stephen."

"Same here, Ames," Stephen said. "You'll be getting here soon?"

"Absolutely," White said. "I'll be there within half an hour."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Stephen said. "Fenos'tol."

"Cut it," Max said to Luke. She and the others walked over to the big conference table in the room and sat around it. She put her cell phone in the middle of the table before she sat down. "Okay we need to start setting this up here, people. This is obviously one nice big trap so we've got to anticipate things. Number one: snipers. We've got to figure out that White's got at least one sniper up there to screw things up at some point so we've got to put at least one of our own up. Riley, how about you?"

"Actually, Max, I think Kevin should be our sniper," Kyle said.

Kevin nodded. "I'm mostly at base-X6 level in terms of my physical abilities, but I somehow managed to get X8-level eyesight. The only one in my family who was a better shot than I am was Becky and I could outscore her on the range about once every ten times. I was the sniper on missions that I'd gone on that required one."

"Great," Max said. "Do you know where you could set yourself up?"

"Yeah," Kevin said. "1010 Baker Street. I set myself up on the roof and I'll have a great shot of the area, no pun intended. Can you guys see anybody up there from your spot?"

"Nope," Xavier said. "You're good to set up there, Kevin."

"That's one down," Max said. "We've got Vance and Xavier and Felicia set up in the van. Now we need to come up with a definite plan to go through with to get everybody out." The others nodded. "I've got an idea."

"Shoot," Alec said.

"A group of us slip into the building. We have another group spread out outside to help with crowd control and maybe White's buddies and distractions that we may need."

"Sounds pretty good," Riley said. "We should probably set a second sniper of ours up as a precaution. I've got no doubt how good Kevin is, we'd go up against each other on the range occasionally back at Manticore after they consolidated the facilities a year ago and he'd beat me practically every time, but with something of this scale we need more than one sniper."

"Right," Max said. She turned to Kyle. "Looks like you were right about me needing help."

"I can't believe she admitted it," Alec said. That got him a smack from Max.

"Smart ass," Max said. "Alec, Riley, Kyle, do you have any suggestions as to who the second sniper should be?"

"Ordinarily I'd suggest Sasha since that was often her function on missions," Alec said. "But she should stay back here with her twins."

Sasha nodded regretfully. "I'm sorry, Max. I'd do it if I could."

"You don't have to apologize," Max said. She smiled. "I totally understand. You don't want to leave those girls without a mother. You and Brin will stay back here and make sure that the welcoming committee is ready for us. Any other suggestions?"

"I'll do it," Kyle said. "You're probably going to need some power on the team that goes in to get everybody out, which means that you'll need Riley for that. I'm a pretty good shot. Not quite as good as Kevin or Becky, but not much worse by a long shot. I tested high with the sniper rifle."

"Excellent," Max said. "Where should we set you up?"

"As far as we can tell, 1005 Baker Street looks clear," Vance said.

"Good," Max said. "Like Kyle said, I'm going to want Riley to be in the group that enters the building. I'm going in also and I'm going to need one more person. Alec, you in?"

"Sure," Alec said. "What the hell."

"Ha ha," Max said. "That puts everybody else on the ground team. Syl, do you think you can lead that group?"

Syl nodded. "Definitely."

"We need to see what kind of supplies we have here," Alec said. "Have you guys set up some kind of storeroom yet?"

"Yeah, the building next door, in the basement," Mole said from where he stood behind Dix and Luke. "We've got plenty. Shotguns, automatic weapons of all sizes, grenades, everything. It never hurts if we find more, though."

"Becky's got some toys of her own in her apartment," Maggie said.

"Yeah," Max said. "Somebody should go get her things and probably her motorcycle from there."

"I'll go do that now," Kyle said. "Maggie, let's go." Maggie nodded and followed Kyle out of the room.

"I'll go with them," Wayne said. "I'll get Zack's things." He followed Kyle and Maggie.

"I guess in the mean time we wait until it's time to make our move," Max said.

"Why don't we just go now?" Dustin asked. "What's stopping us from going out there right now and grabbing them and getting the hell out of there?"

"We need to keep watch on them," Max said. "We need to know about these men and also about their leader. White was as strong and as fast as an X5, plus he didn't feel any pain. The same with his friend. He mentioned to me and Zack that there were others and they had other abilities. I don't know if that means they can do mental tricks or if they have varying levels of physical and/or mental abilities like regular X-series, but we need to be careful."

"I want to get in there and get my big brother," Dustin said. "Besides, why should I believe you, you du—"

"Dustin, sit the hell down and grow up," Ralph, who was sitting next to him, said in disgust. She grabbed him and yanked him back down into his seat. "Max knows what she's doing."

"Oh yeah? She—"

"I know what you are going to say and it better not come out of your mouth," Riley said. "It might just be for that exact reason that we should listen to her on that. She's been out in the world a lot longer than we have and she knows how people think better than we do. Deal with it."

"Why should I?" Dustin muttered.

"Because I said so. Now I know that you are worried about Jeff but you need to get your act together right now. Is that clear, Dustin?" Riley said. Dustin muttered something under his breath. "What was that, 583?"

"I said that you're right," Dustin admitted. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are and we're all worried," Max said. "I'll tell you what. I know that Jeff had some toys of his own at his place. How about you and Christian go get them?"

"Thanks," Dustin said gratefully. He and Christian got up and left the room.

"I guess that's it for now," Max said. "We'll do some recon and maybe start putting the ground group in position when they get back." She stood up and walked over to the wall and leaned against it and sighed. Krit, Syl, Brin, and Rena walked over to her.

"You going to be okay, Maxie?" Rena asked.

"I will be," Max said. "I'll feel even better once we get Zack and Becky and Jeff and those hostages out of there." She laughed bitterly. "It's scary sometimes. I feel like I'm back in Manticore, planning out a training mission that Lydecker told me to lead. Sometimes, no matter how hard you run from something, you can never completely be free of it."

"Tell me about it," Brin said.

"Yeah," Krit said. He looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes widened and he looked over at Syl. "Oh my God."

"What is it?" Rena asked. She looked confused. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Krit said. "I hope it isn't."

Max looked at him and realized what her brother was thinking. "It's a year to the day, isn't it?"

Krit nodded. "Exactly. We took out the DNA lab a year ago today."

"Please don't let that be an omen," Syl said. "I am not losing another brother or sister, even if it turns out to be temporary."

"You won't," Max said. She felt her composure return and she grinned. "Don't worry. We plan this through and we'll beat this bitch. We'll teach White and friends another good lesson on why they shouldn't mess with us."

TBC


	85. Chapter 76e

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

**Notes:** Maybe a slight spoiler-ish thing for "Female Trouble." You'll probably see what I mean by that.

"Things are progressing nicely," Stephen said to White a few hours later. "It's almost like I told Carrie when she and I were baking cookies for that Valentine's Day party at her nursery school last month. When you cook, you have to be patient and let what you are making cook at just the right temperature or it will burn or not be cooked enough. When you cook it just right, it's absolutely delicious. I'm planning on this being one gourmet meal." He handed White one of the two cups of coffee in his hands. "Speaking of food, here's your coffee."

"Thanks," White said. "There's no sign of any of the transgenics, at least ones that I recognize. I guess 452 is learning something."

"It looks that way," Stephen agreed. He took a sip of his own cup of coffee. "Did our man up top check in with you when I was getting the coffee?"

"He reported all clear," White said. "The only snipers that he could spot were the two that the police put up on 1011 Baker and 1006 Baker. He's ready and waiting for when we give him an order."

"Great," Stephen said.

White looked thoughtfully in front of him. "It's very tempting to…no, I won't do it." He looked at his watch. "It's seven o'clock now. This has been going on for close to four hours now. I think the time is right for us to let everybody know just who's in there, don't you think?"

"Absolutely, buddy," Stephen said, grinning. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. He waited for a few moments before it was picked up on the other end. "Fenos'tol. It's time to let slip that you've got transgenics. Brother White is going to make that call as soon as I hang up with you." He listened to the leader's response and added a few more instructions of his own. "Thank you. Fenos'tol." He grinned again and turned back to White. "It's your turn."

* * *

Kevin frowned from his position on the roof of the building that White and Stephen were standing in front of. He glanced around him and put a hand to his earpiece. "Max, it's Kevin."

"What is it, Kevin?" Max asked from back at Terminal City.

"Things are gonna get complicated real fast," he said. "I just overheard a conversation between White and his friend below me. They're going to turn up the heat in there and let it slip that transgenics are among the hostages that are being held in the store." He repeated their conversation to Max. "We're on the clock now. You and Alec and Riley better get over here soon and start to get into position."

"We're on it," Max said. "Do you have a pen light or a laser pointer with you?"

"I sure do," Kevin said. He knew what Max meant. "Kevin out." He reached into one of his pockets and took out a laser pointer. He aimed it at the window of the grocery store and prayed that it would be in either Zack's or Becky's of Jeff's line of sight.

* * *

"That's odd," Becky said as she turned and watched the leader leave the store area and head upstairs in the building. "Why the hell would he…oh, hell no. That better not be why he took a phone call five stories up."

"Here's hoping you're right," Jeff said. He turned and looked at the other hostages. The young boy was curled up next to one of the elderly people and was fast asleep. "The kid's lucky. He's sleeping through this."

"Here's hoping this doesn't traumatize him for life," Becky said. "This won't make us blink an eye when all's said and done, but what about that poor kid who hasn't been through everything that we have?" She shook her head. "These bastards. They just don't think about how many lives are ruined, do they?"

"Hopefully, they won't be ruined," Zack said. "If we stay cool, then things will go that much smoother when the time is finally right for us to make a move and fewer people will get hurt."

"I know," Becky said. The three of them turned their heads and watched as the leader of the group came back into the room and started making casual conversation with one of his men. "I couldn't hear what he was talking about that well. I could hear his voice a little, but he was a little too far up and there was too much interference with something or another to let me be able to make out the words. Jeff?"

"Same here," Jeff said. "I couldn't make out anything. Zack?"

Zack shook his head. "Not a thing." Something caught his eye. "Window." He focused all of his attention on the laser that was Kevin was flashing down to them. "Kevin's up there…he's doing recon and acting as sniper…there's three of us in a van nearby on comm and surveillance duty…Xavier and Felicia and Vance…Kyle's also out there doing recon and he'll move into a sniper position when the time is right…the others are back at Terminal City and are waiting to move into position to get us out of here…Max and Alec and Riley are going to be coming in…" He frowned. "This is a set-up…White and his friend orchestrated this…going to expose the fact that some transgenics are among the hostages…the leader of the men holding us hostage is one of them…they're going to demand to speak to the leader of the transgenics or an authorized representative of the leader and unless they get an answer within an hour of making the demand, they're going to start killing off the hostages one an hour on the hour until they get a response…White's going to leak that information now and it should be revealed within fifteen minutes…get ready and try to hold up until the others get here…ETA twenty-five minutes."

"That leaves a ten-minute gap between when this news hits and when they get here," Jeff murmured. "This is going to be tense."

"I know," Zack said. He held up a hand as Kevin started to signal to them again. "Going to distract them…Vance will make a call from a secure line from the van…will distract leader while Max and Alec and Riley slip in the building and make their move…all others are spread out outside…Syl in charge of them…Sasha and Brin back at Terminal City…" The laser pointer stopped blinking and Zack blinked. "At least help is on the way."

"I think I can stay patient for that long," Becky said. "It looks like Max has things pretty well in hand."

"I knew she could," Zack said confidently. "If there's one thing that you can count of Max for, this is it." He focused back on the window as Kevin started to signal to them again and frowned again. "No matter what happens, White's going to publicly reveal Max and myself and Becky and Alec as transgenic after this is over…he's going to force us into hiding."

"How nice of him to not want to blow my cover," Jeff said sarcastically. "I think I'll get him a present."

"Nothing says thank you like a bullet between the eyes," Becky agreed.

"Save it," Zack said quietly. "Let's stay alert. The clock is ticking now. It won't be long."

TBC


	86. Chapter 76f

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"All right, this is it," Max said to the others as they sat in a van parked near the store twenty minutes later. "Everybody knows what they have to do. Once Vance has made the call, we move into position. Check in once you've gotten into position. Kevin and Kyle are already set. Got it?" The others nodded. "Good. Vance? It's showtime."

"Got it," Vance said from inside the comm van. He took the cell phone that Felicia handed to him and dialed a number and waited patiently for somebody to pick it up on the other end.

* * *

Zack and Becky and Jeff sat close to each other, watching the men pacing nervously. "Come on, when is Vance going to make the call?" Becky muttered.

"He will," Jeff said. "Don't worry. I know Vance. He'll come through."

"Right," Becky said.

They heard a cell phone ring and the leader took one out of his pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, I'm assuming that this is the leader of the group that's holding the hostages?" Vance said.

The leader grinned. "Yeah, that's me. You're the transgenic leader?"

"I am an authorized representative," Vance said. "Barcode number 331596266437, designation X6-437. I was told by our leader that I am to listen to what demands that you have and execute them the best way possible."

"Why doesn't your precious leader speak to me him or herself?" the leader asked nastily.

"Our leader likes to maintain his or her anonymity," Vance said. "I hope that you understand."

"My brother, the bullshit artist," Jeff said, just managing to hide a smile.

"Quiet," Zack said.

"I understand," the leader said. "I'm not completely happy about it, but I understand."

"Thank you," Vance said. "What are your demands?"

"First, I would like to speak to one of you bastards face-to-face," the leader said.

_You did a few hours ago, remember?_ Zack thought.

"I can see if the leader will authorize you to speak to one of the transgenics that are with you right now," Vance said. "Will that be sufficient?"

"I'm afraid not," the leader said. "I don't even know which of these hostages the transgenics are. Well, it obviously isn't the old couple but it could be the kid or Mr. All-American or Ms. America or the James Dean-wannabe or one of the store employees."

"We keep ourselves as hidden as we can," Vance said. "But let me check with my leader to see if we can arrange something." There was a pause before Vance came back on the line. "We will be sending another authorized representative of our leader to the store within the next fifteen to twenty minutes."

"Good," the leader said. "I want this representative to enter through the front. The police will have to let him or her through those barricades. After all, I'm sure that they want to resolve this situation as much as we both do."

Vance pretended to think about that. "I'm sorry, we can't do that. We want to minimize the chances of our representative being hit by friendly or enemy fire and we feel that those chances will only increase if our representative enters through the front. Does the store have a side entrance?"

"Hey, does this place have a side entrance?" the leader asked the assistant manager.

"Y—yes, it does," the assistant manager said.

"Fine, your representative will come in through the side entrance," the leader said. "He or she will knock exactly three times and wait for exactly ten seconds before knocking again. Then he or she will be escorted into the building so that we may begin the negotiations."

"That sounds acceptable," Vance said. "One of us will be seeing you in fifteen to twenty minutes, then."

"We'll see you then," the leader said. He disconnected his cell phone and shoved it back into his pocket. "Okay, boys, we're gonna meet a freakin' transgenic face-to-face."

"Maybe it'll be a girl," one of the other men said, laughing. "I'd like to have some fun with one of them. Talk about wild animal sex!"

Becky narrowed her eyes. She felt Zack grip her right shoulder and Jeff grip her left hand so tightly she thought she was going to lose circulation. "Guys, ease up on the grip," she hissed. "I really do appreciate the support, but loss of blood to my limbs isn't going to help us."

"Sorry," Jeff apologized. He and Zack both eased their grip on Becky. "That bastard…"

"I know," Becky said. "He's going to get one royal ass-kicking. You don't have a problem with me getting violent with him, do you big brother?"

"This time, I won't have any problem whatsoever," Zack agreed.

"Thank you," Becky said. She reached underneath her turtleneck to scratch her neck and quickly withdrew her hand and yanked the neck back up before anybody other than the three of them could see. "Shit. It's back."

"Great," Jeff said. "One more thing."

"Stay cool," Zack said. "Five minutes or less. Stay cool."

* * *

"Okay, Max, the call has been made," Vance said.

"Excellent," Max said. "Okay, you guys, let's move out. Everybody checks in when you're set to go and then it's comm. silence unless it's absolutely necessary."

They exited the van and fanned out and moved into their positions. Max and Riley and Alec quickly moved around until they were at the rear of the building. They listened as one by one, the others started to check in. Max looked up at the fire escape and reached up and grabbed it. She shook her head and gestured to Riley and Alec. _It's steady but too noisy for us._

Riley nodded and began to put together the rappelling gun together and shot the hook up to the roof. It caught and she tested the rope to make sure that it was secure before she looked over towards Max and Alec and then back up at the rope and then jumped up, grabbing the rope about three stories up and climbing up the rope until she reached the top of the fire escape and swung over to it. Max waited until Riley was safely on the fire escape before she ascended and Alec did the same. When all three of them were at the top of the fire escape, Max opened the window and the three of them slipped inside the building one by one. They silently made their way to the stair case and went down the stairs, stopping at each floor to make sure that nobody was there. They finally reached the first floor and stopped at the door. Max lifted a hand to her earpiece. "We're in position." She reached up and began to tap her fingers against the wall.

* * *

Zack listened intently when he heard the faint sound of Max's tapping and nodded and turned to Becky and Jeff. "They're in position and waiting for our signal whenever we're ready. As soon as—"

"Damnit, I'm tired of this," one of the men snapped. "Why do we have to wait until some dumb sci-fi freak show fucker shows up for us to talk to?"

The leader thought about it and smiled. "Yeah, Grant, you're right. What the hell. Let's start killing people until we get to the transgenic. Let's start with the old—"

"Wait," Becky said suddenly.

"Becky, what the hell are you doing?" Zack hissed.

"I'm gonna be exposed anyway, remember?" she whispered back. "Trust me on this." She straightened and turned and stared the leader right in the eye. "I'm the transgenic. There's only one of us here and it's me."

"Listen, princess, it's awfully sweet of you to want to save the other people, but you don't have to get yourself killed," one of the men said patronizingly.

"You don't believe me?" Becky said. "I've got the barcode to prove it. Wanna take a look?" She rolled down the neck of her shirt and the leader took a look at her barcode and blinked.

"I'll be damned," he said. "She really is a freak."

"Nice, I was hoping for a female," the man who'd made the rude comment before, said. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "You wouldn't mind if we didn't kill this one, would you?"

"Sorry, Davis," the leader said. "We've got to kill her. We've still got a few minutes before the representative gets here. This will be some nice leverage for us." He aimed his automatic rifle right at Becky.

Becky shook her head and laughed, though she sounded far from happy. "Oh, that was such a bad, bad move."

"Really? Tell me why, sweetheart?" he asked, leaning closer to Becky, his full attention on her.

Becky smirked. _Perfect._ "I've got a few reasons. Like…" She saw him start to lunge towards her, obviously thinking the she was going to attack him, but she ducked and Zack tackled him to the floor. She saw Max and Riley and Alec blur into the room and reached over and grabbed Davis. "I think I owe you something." She let go of his hand and whirled around and kicked him in the head. He dropped to the ground and groaned in pain. "Maybe that will teach you a lesson about treating women nicely, huh?"

"I don't think so," Max said as her opponent struggled in her grip. She turned around and swung him into some shelves, then blurred over to where Zack was fighting the leader of the group.

"Not bad, 599," the leader said as he blocked a punch from Zack. "But I will always be better."

"I don't think so," Zack growled as he grabbed the leader's fist as it was about to connect with his face and twisted his arm. The leader kicked out at Zack's thigh and Zack went down and lost his grip on him.

"Guess who was wrong," the leader said, smiling cruelly.

"That would be you," Max said sweetly from behind him. He turned around, only to have Max's foot connect with his stomach. He staggered back and Zack got back up and took him out with another punch. "Man, these freaky cult people have issues."

"Yeah," Zack said. He turned to the other hostages. "It's okay, we're not the bad guys. We want to get you all out of here."

"Just do that," the elderly lady said. "Please?"

"Don't worry, ma'am," Max assured her. "We're going to get you out of here." She waited while Zack and Becky and Jeff armed themselves with the weapons from three of the men and Riley and Alec grabbed the rifles off of another two. She listened for noises outside and turned back. "We've got to get out of here. White's sending people in. Riley, Jeff, get the hostages out of here. Take the side entrance."

"Got it," Jeff said. He turned back to Becky and grinned at her and mouthed "I love you" before he turned to the hostages. "Okay, everybody, follow me and my sister and we'll get all of you out of here safely." He and Riley led the hostages out of the building.

"We've got to get out of here," Alec said. He tossed earpieces to Zack and Becky, who put them on.

"Shit, I've been spotted—damnit!" Kyle yelled from his position.

"Kyle, get the hell out of there," Becky yelled as she headed towards the back with Max and Zack and Alec. "Are you okay?"

"Just a graze," Kyle said. "White's bastard sniper. I'm on my way out."

"Get to the getaway van and drive it to rendezvous point A," Max ordered.

"I copy," Kyle said.

"Sniper situation neutralized," Kevin said. "White's sniper is taken care of."

"Good work," Zack said. He kicked opened the back door and they raced outside, only to see some of White's men come at them from the left in the distance. "Damn, they're closing on us already."

"We'll have to take the low road," Max said. "Guys, we're taking the sewers. We'll meet you in T.C. Syl, you and the ground group take out as many as you can before meeting Kyle at rendezvous point A. Kevin, get out of there too and try to provide cover if needed."

"Got it, Max," Syl said.

The four of them reached a manhole cover and they lifted it and quickly dropped down into the sewers. Becky quickly pulled it back into place before taking off with the rest of them. "How much farther?"

"It's gonna be a few minutes," Max said as they tore through the sewers. They ran in silence before Becky suddenly looked up above her.

"Shit!" she yelled as the manhole cover above her opened. She let loose a few rounds with her rifle and a body dropped down next to her. She ducked and let Alec and Zack fire on the other two men who tried to enter the sewers before she got up and the four of them ran again. She could her other manhole covers opening in the distance. "They're going to try to cut us off before we reach Terminal City."

"You and Alec split off," Max said. "We'll meet you guys there." Becky looked like she was going to protest, but Zack gestured to her and Alec and Becky shut up. She gave Zack and Max a quick smile and then she and Alec took off down another tunnel.

"I hate splitting up," Becky said.

"I don't like it too much myself, but it's the best way," Alec admitted. He looked ahead of them and zoomed in on a manhole cover. "Dead ahead."

Becky turned and fired on the men who dropped in on them from behind them. "And right behind." She dropped the rifle and kicked one in the knees. She quickly bent down and grabbed her rifle again and tossed it to another man. He barely had time to catch that and no time at all to block the kick that went straight into his face. She picked her rifle back up and slung the strap back over her shoulder. "Gets them every time."

"I second that," Alec said as he elbowed an opponent in the head. He took a quick glance at the one that Becky had kicked in the face before they took off again. "You only left him with a shattered jaw?"

"And a broken left orbital bone," Becky said. "I purposely went a little off-center with that last kick because we don't want to kill unless it's necessary. We just want to get the hell to safety." She gestured something to Alec, who agreed and they turned into another tunnel, only to stop short at the sound of a gunshot and a scream.

* * *

Max and Zack continued on down the sewers until they too heard manhole covers opening on either side of them. Zack fired a few rounds in the distance, but neither he nor Max heard any bodies fall down. They frowned and continued on when Zack suddenly yanked Max, who was in front and to the left of him a little, directly in front of him and went down, pinning Max underneath him. Max pulled herself from underneath Zack and screamed. He wasn't moving.

"Oh, did my friends shoot your precious boyfriend, 452?" White said innocently. "Our bad. They meant to shoot you."

"You fucking bastard," Max said. She flung herself onto Zack's body and sobbed. She listened in for a heartbeat and to check if he was breathing and almost jumped when Zack talked to her.

"I'm not hit," he whispered, just barely loud enough for Max to hear. "Play along."

Max nodded and continued sobbing and slapped Zack's face lightly as if she was trying to revive him. "Zack? Zack? You better not be joking. Come on, baby, wake up. Wake up for me, please? This isn't funny. Can you wake up for me? Can you be okay for me? Zack, please…"

"That is just so sweet," White said. He laughed. "Oh, 452. How screwed are you? Your boyfriend is dead and I don't see your buddy 494 or that little bitch 405 around. Do you? All I see are you, your dead freak boyfriend, and my friends over there. You're surrounded. What is that phrase that they taught you back in Manticore that I'm guessing that you learned in some of your first tactics classes? I think it is 'surrender.'"

"Bite me," Max said. She never left Zack's side. "Zack's not dead. He's still got a pulse." She pretended to check for a pulse again and gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. "No. No way. Oh no, oh no, oh no…"

White laughed. "Look at the miserable little freak bitch now. Her poor boyfriend just bought the farm. Am I mistaken, 452, or did he just die without telling you how much he loved you?"

"Shut up!" Max said through her sobs. White just laughed.

* * *

Becky took a gun that she'd taken from one of the men back at the store and grabbed the silencer that she'd also taken and snapped it onto the gun and took aim. She saw Alec do the same and waited until his signal before she fired, hitting her target dead-on. _How do you like that, you sadistic asshole?_

* * *

"You pathetic little freak of nature," White said. "You know, maybe you have more in common with regular humans than we thought you did. You are both absolutely, completely pathetic. Too weak to walk the face of the Earth." He jumped when the two men who were behind Max and Zack fell backwards suddenly, each of them with a bullet hole right between the eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

"This is," Zack said as Max rolled off of him and he sat up and fired the pistol that he'd taken, the shot going straight through White's right kneecap. White went down, unable to stand on the knee, pain or no pain.

"Whoopsie," Max said innocently. "Did we ever mention that part of our training included learning how to act? Well, they didn't exactly call it that and it's not like we learned it by performing plays or anything like that, but it's all the same in the end." She smirked. "See you later, White." She and Zack got up and went to Alec and Becky and the four of them continued on.

"Nice shooting, you guys," Zack said. "Those shots were perfect."

"Nice acting," Alec said. "You almost had Becky running in there and going apeshit on White and company until Max said the code phrase."

"I'm sorry," Zack said.

"It's okay," Becky said. "It worked. I'll probably beat the crap out of you later for it, but it worked."

They continued on silently for another minute before they finally reached the manhole cover they wanted. "Hi, honey, we're home," Alec said cheerfully. Max punched him. "Wow, Max, even now you have to hit me."

"Shut up," Max said as the cover was pulled aside by somebody above them and she jumped up and out of the sewers, followed by Zack and Becky and Alec.

"Jeff!" Becky squealed as she saw him and blurred over, nearly knocking them both to the ground as she hugged him. "You're okay."

"So are you," Jeff said. He kissed her. "The hostages are all fine. Riley and I released them somewhere safe before we headed over here."

"We just got here a few minutes ago," Syl said. "No losses and no injuries other than the bullet graze across the ribs that Kyle picked up. He's over in the med bay getting a bandage put on that. We had to take out a few of White's men, but we all got here in one piece and we weren't followed in."

"We had a close call with White, but it's all good now," Max said. She grinned at Syl. "I told you that we'd pull this one off, big sister."

"You did," Syl said.

"You also seriously need to take a shower," Krit said, wrinkling his nose. "Damn, Maxie, did you guys go swimming while you were down there?"

"Do you want a hug?" Max asked.

"No thank you," Krit said.

"The showers, at least the ones that work, are in the main building," Kevin said. "We got some of your stuff here." He grinned wickedly. "Well, except for Alec's. Ooops." He and the others laughed at the Look that Alec gave Kevin. "Don't worry, I'll let you borrow a change of clothes from me until we get your stuff from your place."

Max looked around as it sank in. "This is going to have to be our home now. With White going to expose myself and Becky and Zack and Alec and possibly others, we're not safe living in the rest of the city or anywhere else."

"Safety in numbers," Zack agreed. "Looks like that time is definitely here, Maxie."

"Looks that way," Max said. She brightened and smiled up at him. "Does that mean that we're officially moving in together?"

Zack grinned. "You've talked me into it."

"Just please, for the love of God, get an apartment here that's not next to where I'll park myself," Becky begged.

"Same here," Krit said. Max and Zack just shook their heads and headed to the showers.

TBC


	87. Chapter 77

**Disclaimer:** The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

White limped forward on his cane. "I can't believe I let those freaks get away."

"You're not the only one who's hurting," Stephen, whose left arm was in a sling, said. "I got shot by some sniper that they must have had on the building across the street from the store as I was trying to direct our traffic after 452 and her friends got inside the building. The only reason that it didn't hit my heart and kill me was because I was moving around at the time and even a transgenic can't kill a moving target all of the time." They stopped and turned around when they saw the woman walking towards them on the pier. "From our fathers before us, for our sons."

"From my mother before me, for my daughters," the woman said. "Brother White. Brother Garrison. You two look like you have picked up some battle scars recently."

"We did," White said. "The freaks got away from us last night with no casualties to their side. We lost a few of our brothers and sisters in the chase both above and underground. The good news is that the information about 452, 599, 494, and 405 is set to be given out on the news this evening. Wherever they are, they'll be pinned down there."

"We believe that the most likely place that they are hiding in is Terminal City, right here in Seattle," Stephen said. "All transgenics, regardless of which series they are, are completely immune to the toxins that are still in the air in that area. Normal humans are not and even we are not immune to them. It is, unfortunately, a perfect place for the freaks to hide since humans are forbidden to enter there. A whole large sector of the city just for the freaks."

"I see," the woman said. "Well, I have to tell you that despite not capturing or executing any of the transgenics during the events that occurred yesterday, the Conclave is still extremely happy with the end result. We also agree that they are most likely pinned down in a fashion in Terminal City. I know that the two of you would still like to go after 452 and her fellow transgenics, but don't worry. Thanks to Brother White's tremendous efforts over the past nine months as well as the wonderful contributions that you, Brother Garrison, also have made, we are way ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, you both also know the delicate and time-sensitive nature of our plans and they must be executed on the time table that was set forth so long ago. So you two can kick back and relax for months at least. You have both earned it."

"Thank you," White said. "It does our hearts good to hear the praise of the Conclave."

"As it does the hearts of the Conclave to know and see that so much is being done for all of us," the woman said. "Now, as a Familiar and as a concerned friend, I am asking you both to go home and relax. Again, you have earned it."

"Actually, we were going to go back to my house as soon we pick up Brother Garrison's daughter from nursery school," White said. "Wendy is going to make her special pot roast and mashed potatoes tonight and she invited Brother Garrison and his daughter over for an early dinner. Would you care to join us?"

"I believe that I will," the woman said. "Your wife's cooking is nothing short of superb and I would like to see Brother Garrison's daughter again."

"The car that we took is over there," White said, pointing to it. "You can follow us to Carrie's school and then we'll go to my house right from there."

"Very good," the woman said. "I will see you there. Fenos'tol."

"Fenos'tol," White and Stephen said.

TBC


	88. Chapter 78

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: This is not actually the new chapter of this fic. The new chapter is actually the first one. The explanation as to why is in the author's notes for that chapter.

Max sat down on top of one of the taller buildings in Terminal City, lost in her thoughts. Sure enough, it had broken that night that her and Zack and Becky and Alec were transgenic. She didn't know what the public thought exactly and she didn't care all that much.

_They'll be wanting me dead,_ she thought. _No big dealio. I've only been wanted captured or dead for just over half of my life. I don't know these people. Their opinions don't matter too much to me right now, anyway._ She bit her lip. _Sketchy and Herbal and even Normal, though…their opinions do matter to me. Wait a second, what do I have to worry about? Original Cindy will either talk or smack some sense into them._

She looked downwards for a moment. _Damn, I might never see her again. She's been my best friend for close to three years now and I didn't even say good-bye. That must make me some friend, doesn't it?_

"Hey, there," Zack said softly. He walked up to Max and sat down next to her. "Krit said that you were up here."

"Hey," Max said. She let Zack put an arm around her shoulders and snuggled against him. "Just getting my thoughts together."

Zack nodded. "I don't blame you." He saw the expression on Max's face. "Don't worry, Maxie, everything's going to be fine."

"I know," Max said. "I'm just not very happy about not seeing Original Cindy and all of my non-transgenic friends again."

"You might see them again," Zack said. "This will all be over one of these days and we can get back to somewhat normal lives. Even before then, we'll be sneaking out at night to get money and supplies. I'm not saying this is the smartest idea because I know that it tactically is far from the smartest idea, but I know that you will try to sneak a visit to at least Original Cindy in. I trust you and I trust that you know what you're doing."

"Thanks," Max said. "Actually, I'm gonna have to make a run to my apartment one of these nights to get the rest of my things. Have Becky and Jeff and Alec and the others done the same yet?"

"Yeah," Zack said. "Everybody except for Krit and Syl has gotten their stuff and transferred it over here. I don't know why they insisted on using that truck last night so that they could get most of their furniture and appliances and those things from their apartments as well. That was too dangerous."

Max raised an eyebrow. "You've seen the places that they've settled into. The need for at least a few decent pieces of furniture and appliances took first priority, even for Alec."

"I can't believe he's sharing Brin's apartment here," Zack said.

"Relax," Max said. "It's mostly for the baby's sake than for anything else. They are sharing a room because it's only a two bedroom apartment, but they're sleeping in separate beds. And before you have a complete aneurism, it was Brin's idea. Remember?"

"If he hurts our sister…" Zack said. He sighed. "I know, I know, relax and breathe."

Max laughed a little. "Yeah."

They were silent for a little while. "It's amazing how different things are from a year ago," Zack said. "You and I thought each other was dead, Manticore was still alive but limping on its last legs, we were all separated…now we're together, Manticore is long gone, and most of our family is reunited."

"All that's missing is Zane and Jondy and Jace," Max agreed.

"Not for long," Zack admitted. "I called them before I came up here after you. Since I'm in effect stuck here, I won't be able to get to them as easily if they get into trouble. Zane should be here in a day or two and Jondy's going to pick up Jace and her daughter in Mexico and then the three of them are heading straight here. They should be here in about a week."

"I can't wait," Max said. "Our whole family, what's left of it anyway, together again for the first time in twelve years."

"It's about time," Zack agreed. "I never wanted to keep all of us separated from each other for all of these years. I wanted us to be safe."

"I know," Max said. "We all know that. We don't love you any less because you kept us separated."

"Now you guys don't but I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons that I had so much trouble initially with Rena after I'd found her after the escape was because she was angry with me because I'd separated her and Zane," Zack said.

"That's Rena for you," Max said. "Both her and Sasha can hold a grudge when they want to."

"Yeah," Zack said.

Max smiled and snuggled even closer to him. "Don't worry, neither of them hold a grudge against you now."

"I know," Zack said. He leaned down and kissed Max. They just held each other and stared out at the city for a long time before either of them moved or said anything. "We should be getting inside. I think Krit's going to try to pull a prank on Wayne tonight."

"Retaliation or just to stir things up?" Max asked, grinning.

"Just to stir things up," Zack said with a groan.

Max laughed. "Come on. Let's go save our brothers from killing each other." She and Zack got up and walked over to the stairs and headed back to their brothers and sisters.

The end!

More notes: Also, just so everybody knows, I re-uploaded these files from backups, so the notes where I had thanked my reviewers (before said that was a no-no) are no longer on the chapters.


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